MMPR: The Eighth Coin
by dtm666
Summary: Who poses a greater threat to the Power Rangers? A plethora of Zedd's monsters striking at once or a cunning warrior claiming to hold the mythical 8th power coin? R
1. Part 1

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 1  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author of this document would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment/Disney and not the author. Also the author would like to make it known that the introduction of an Eighth Power Coin DOES NOT mean there will be an introduction of a new Ranger. I mean, COME ON! There's enough Mighty Morphin fanfics out there introducing Purple Rangers, Orange Rangers, Mauve Rangers, and whatever out there that there's really no need to add another one. So here's my story... newbie Ranger-free.

Timeline: The following story takes place between the Seasons 3 episodes "A Friend In Need" and "Ninja Quest". At this point, the Rangers still have ThunderZords and Rito hasn't shown up yet. Enjoy and leave a review!

---

The planet Eltare. The homeworld of the sage Zordon, current mentor to the Power Rangers.

On the Northeastern portion of the planet's desert area lies the Temple of Ancients, one of Eltare's oldest monuments and home of its greatest treasures. If there was anything of great value on this planet, chances are it would be found here. Within the main chamber of the temple, two Eltarian honor guards stand in front of a pillar, completely covered in holy light from the searing sky. On top of that pillar laid a fine-crafted black box with various colored jewels placed on certain corners of the box.

All seemed peaceful in the temple until a hunter, dressed in various robes, slowly entered the temple, much to the annoyance of the two guards, who had not expected (nor wanted) to be seeing anybody today. Pulling off the mask used for protection against the strong sandwinds outside, the hunter looks to be a human female, except for darkened veins on sides of her face. She slowly approached the two guards, who positioned themselves to block her path to the pillar of light.

"Turn away." the guard warned. "Or we will attack."

Just as quickly, the hunter pulls out a peculiarly crafted longbow and fires two arrows at one of the guards, killing him instantly. The second guard rushed towards the hunter with his scimitar, but the hunter pulled out her own blade, a traditional Terran-style katana sword, and blocked the guards attacks. After a few blocked attacks, the hunter delivered a stiff kick to the guard's abdomen, following with a quick stab of the blade through his heart.

Sheathing her weapon, she approached the pillar of light and reached for the box. Eltarians were known for the light shields which prevented physical contact. Apparently, the hunter's unique biology made her resistant to their shields, because she had managed to grab onto the box and pull it off the pillar with little effort.

Pulling out the box, the hunter opened the top with a slight twist of a knob. Her eyes widened at the sight of a circular object, about an inch in diameter. The object was letting out a faint glow, constantly shifting colors from red to white to yellow and so on. Looking for any suspicious characters, the hunter swiftly grabbed the object and placed it in her pouch, tossing the crafted box aside.

With quick haste, the hunter drew her arms up to her chest in a cross position and soon vanished in a flash of bright purple light.

---

In the main district of downtown Angel Grove, people were quickly rushing away from the fish monster known as Pirantishead, who was using his signature fish flute to fire beams of energy at various nearby vehicles. When he turned to fire another round, he saw six familiar figures wearing colored costumes. Immediately, the monster stopped his attack and groaned at the sight of the six.

"Power Rangers?!" Pirantishead squirmed, "Again?!"

White Ranger waved his finger. "Do we really have to destroy you again, Tuna face?" he said in a almost whining voice, "I mean this is like, what? The third time Zedd's pulled you out of mothballs?"

Angered by Tommy's taunt, Pirantishead fired a couple of missiles at the Rangers, who managed to dodge the projectiles. Red Ranger, brandishing his Power Sword, jumped at the creature and slashed across his nose. The monster was sent reeling as a result of the attack.

Next up, Black Ranger rushed towards the monster and delivered a side kick, which Pirantishead managed to block with both arms. However, Adam was quickly able to connect with another sidekick that the creature did not block and was sent flying towards the side of a destroyed car.

Blue Ranger pulled out his Blade Blaster, along with another pistol, and shoot several beams at Pirantishead, all of which made impact. All it took was a quick slash from White Ranger's saber along with Pink Ranger's Flame Arrow shot from her Power bow and the monster was destroyed. However, almost instantly, another monster appeared and struck White Ranger from behind. White Ranger saw the blue-skinned monster and attacked with a kick that knocked the creature back a step.

"_Fang_?!" Billy yelled upon noticing the monster, "Zedd brought back _Fang_?!"

"Yip!" was all the monster said as he dashed at Blue Ranger. Blue Ranger dodged Fang's claw swipes and managed to land a snap kick on the monster's chest, which caused him to recoil back a bit. White Ranger jumped in and used Saba to slash across Fang's chest, the killing blow that made Fang explode. This summoned a third monster of the past, King Sphinx, to appear and knock down White Ranger with his staff.

Tommy looked up, noticing the huge Sphinx monster that was standing tall before him. "What the?!"

"It's King Sphinx to you, sonny!" the monster snorted snidely.

"Tommy, get back!" Kim shouted, remembering that Sphinx was a monster that Rita used before Tommy came into the picture. "If he flaps his wings and blow you away, you're a goner!"

"Not yet!" Tommy grunted as he delivered a stern kick to King Sphinx's chest.

The Rangers ganged up on Sphinx and kept him busy. A dizzying sidekick from the Red Ranger knocked Sphinx to the ground and the six Rangers formed the Power Cannon, which had replaced the aging Power Blaster as their combined weapon. When King Sphinx was back on his feet, the Rangers fired a fully-powered blast that enveloped Sphinx in yellow light. A second later, Sphinx exploded, ceding victory to the Rangers.

Tommy let out a sigh of relief. They had won the day, but he knew there would be more to come.

---

In the lunar palace on the moon where many of the Rangers' battles are caused, Lord Zedd sat atop his throne and grumbled as he saw the Power Rangers destroy Pirantishead for what seemed like the third time. Zedd . Just ahead was the Titan warrior Goldar, who squirmed at the sight of Zedd's latest creation being destroyed by the Rangers.

"Master, our monsters has been destroyed," the warrior informed.

"I know that, you fool!" Zedd spat, causing Goldar to recoil on instinct, "That's the last time I will ever use those sorry excuses for monsters!"

"B-But, Master," Goldar argued, "Pirantishead had been instrumental in the crippling of the Rangers' original Dinozords. King Sphinx is a cunning soldier who was able to divide the Power Rangers and almost defeat them. And Fang is a powerful adversary."

"But they're all crappy monsters," Zedd rebutted as he stood from his throne, "None of those monsters were effective when they were alone. What makes you think they'll be effective together?!"

Goldar did not answer.

"With Rita out to collect worthless artifacts, I'm on my own," Zedd said as he walked around the chamber of command, "I will have to come up with a better monster than the worthless garbage we currently have."

"What about the Reaper monster in the Alchemy Lab?" the Titan warrior suggested, "With its various abilities, it will prove to be Armageddon for those accursed Rangers."

Zedd shook his head as he looked ahead. "No, that monster needs more time before it is fully energized and I am saving it as a last resort. I will need a monster that will get the job done NOW." He turned to Goldar. "Oversee the reinforcement of the latest batch of Putties while I draw up plans for a new monster."

Goldar looked at his master in awe. "We're not going to attack?"

"No, not yet," the fleshman answered, "Let the Rangers enjoy their minor victory over the first wave, because my next monster will be no walk in the park."

---

The minute the hunter materialized on the transporter pad of her spacecraft orbiting Eltare, she approached the navigation console and plot a course for Onyx, a wasteland planet where the most fiendish warriors gather together, play cards, and get drunk. In other words, the perfect place to gain information concerning a certain Eltarian sage whose exploits were the stuff of legend on his own planet.

With the co-ordinates set, the hunter set the ship on auto-pilot and went to her small bunk. Lying on the padded bed, she pulled out her newly-claimed prize from her pocket and examined it carefully. She took a piece of paper from her other pocket and her eyes switched from the coin to the paper, which had a list of descriptions written in Roman letters. It took all of two minutes to confirm her suspicions and belief. There was no mistaking what she had just discovered.

She had the Eighth Coin in her hand...

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Part 2

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 2  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

Note: Thanks to those who left a review - so here's the second chapter of this quick story, earlier than intended. Just to make sure there's no confusion; any mention of "Megazord" in this and future chapters refers to the Thunder Megazord. I feel it quite redundant to have to type Thunder Megazord every single time I need to reference it, especially since it's the only Megazord featured. So enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.

---

_This is beautiful_, Tommy thought, _just beautiful._

Earlier today, the Power Rangers had been summoned to fight Pirantishead, who had been resurrected again along with two of Rita Repulsa's old creations, Fang and King Sphinx. The battle was short and ended with the monsters destroyed and the Power Rangers victorious once again. Of course, that wasn't the end of it.

For the second time today, the Power Rangers had been summoned into battle. This time, a peculiar monster calling himself "Coke-Master" was rampaging in Angel Grove park. When the Rangers found the monster, he had grown immediately thanks to one of Zedd's growth bombs. As the Rangers summoned and combined the Thunderzords to battle Coke-Master, White Ranger battled the small nearby group of Putties led by Goldar. He managed to effectively clear the way of the putties, leaving only the deadly Titan in his path.

"If you have anything better to do, monkey-brain," Tommy commanded, "I suggest you do it before I finish you."

Goldar snarled. "Your arrogance will get the better of you, White Ranger!"

"Huh," huffed White Ranger, "We'll just see about that."

While White Ranger battled Goldar, the Coke-Master fired several beams of energy at the Megazord, slowing it down somewhat. Coke-Master continued firing beams as the Megazord pulled out its saber and began to deflect the beams back at Coke-Master. All of the deflected beams struck the monster and momentarily stunned him.

"This guy simply doesn't know any new tricks." Red Ranger commented, "Let's finish him off."

Its eyes illuminating from the helmet, the Thunder Megazord held the saber forward. Energy crackled around the shining blade and when it was glowing at an almost blinding intensity, the Megazord swung at the Coke-Master, slashing across its chest. The monster almost whined in agony before it tumbled to the ground and exploded into nothingness.

---

On the moon, Lord Zedd looked on through his super vision as the battle on Earth progressed, where he just witnessed the Thunder Megazord's victory over his Coke-Master monster. A devilish grin formed on Zedd's face, but it wasn't really visible thanks to the fleshman's iron mask. Things were going better than he had anticipated.

"Now to activate Phase 2."

---

The rock quarry of Angel Grove Construction Yards was relatively silent, the deep hole barren and void of life despite being midday. From the distance, air manipulated itself to form the shape of a small spacecraft roughly several meters in length. The side of the ship opened up, revealing a flight of stairs downward. From the ship, smoke and mist escaped in the interior of the vessel, where the hunter and possessor of the Eighth Coin emerged. When the hunter was about several feet away from her vessel, she gave a quick nod and soon the ship slowly levitated upwards and blasted into the sky.

The hunter surveyed the surrounding city carefully. Whoever gave her information on the coin and the whereabouts of the Eltarian sage was accurate in the relative primitiveness of Earth society. Before she could progress further, she felt a warm sensation from her pouch. From the pouch, she pulled out the power coin and saw it glowly brightly, shifting colors every split-second. The hunter could almost feel the growing power from this relic...

---

As with every other battle he's had with the White Ranger, Goldar was seriously taking a beating. The quick reflexes of the former Green Ranger were too much for the Titan to handle. White Ranger continued his relentless assault until he managed to knock down the Titan. Before he could anything else, he was knocked back by an explosion that erupted out of nowhere. When Tommy recovered, he looked up to see a green-armored warrior, holding a broadsword in his hand.

"Too much for you, isn't it, Ranger?" the warrior grunted.

Tommy responded with a grunt. "Not yet, ugly."

"Tommy!"

He heard the call of the Pink Ranger from the distance as he saw the five Power Rangers emerging from the smoke. They kept their distance from the warrior and went into their battle stances.

"Is that the Dark Warrior?" Billy commented, "Zedd's pulling all stops with Rita's old monsters!"

Rocky shrugged and pulled out his Blade Blaster, setting it to maximum level. "Less talk, more shooting."

The Rangers pulled out their blasters and fired several shots across Dark Warrior's back. Unaffected by the attack, he Warrior turned his attention to the five Rangers and took them down with a running dash attack that involved striking all five Rangers with one sword slash. This maneuver left the Warrior to White Ranger, who pulled out Saba and fired beams from the saber's eyes. The Warrior was momentarily stunned by the attack, but was soon flanked by a second Dark Warrior, who was armed with a chain. White Ranger noticed the chain flying at him and quickly grabbed ahold of it. Using the Warrior's momentum, he yanked the chain so that the Warrior would crash onto the debris-filled street. White Ranger leapt over the two Dark Warriors and joined up with the other Rangers, who were quickly recovering from the attack. When all turned to face the two Dark Warriors, they noticed that a third Dark Warrior was present, this one holding a two-bladed sword.

"Ah man!" Rocky whelped, "Another one?!"

"Zedd must really be desperate to dig out Rita's old monster rejects," mused Billy, "Let alone copy them."

"We have to fight them out, Rangers," White Ranger called, "Let's do it!"

The Rangers continued to attack the Dark Warriors head on. Even if they hadn't fought a battle earlier on, they were still hard pressed to take on two fully-powered Dark Warriors. Eventually, the Rangers capitalized on a mistake by one of the warriors and managed to summon the Power Cannon to finish them off. Just as they had done so, a giant pighead wearing a Roman gladiator's helmet leapt at the Rangers, who managed to avoid contact with the flying pig projectile. The Rangers reformed a second Power Cannon (as the first one was discarded when they jumped out of the pig's way) and fired a concentrated shot at the pig, vaporizing it on contact.

"Great," Pink Ranger mused, "Is Zedd desperate enough to pull Pudgy Pig out of mothballs?"

"Desperate enough to send one," Blue Ranger said, pointing away from the Pudgy Pig before them, "let alone twenty more!!"

All the Rangers turned to find a small group of Pudgy Pigs, each of them holding green pitchforks and giant dinner knives. The Rangers found it obvious that they would get outnumbered real fast at the rate. Without much hesitation, shots flew from the Power Cannon like a pea-shooter, destroying a Pudgy Pig that would get replaced by two more. Soon, the Rangers found themselves not only fighting a growing army of mutant pigs, but they were also fighting off the growing fatigue that was diminishing their ability to defend themselves, as the constant development of Pudgy Pigs were wearing them down.

"We can't keep up with this forever, Tommy," Red Ranger yelled, "We have to withdraw!"

"No!" White Ranger countered, "We almost got 'em!"

The blasts being shot from the Power Cannon were slowly losing their strength, as it took two or three blasts to eliminate each Pudgy Pig, and it didn't help matters that more were coming. Just when it seemed the Rangers were about to be overwhelmed, everyone was assaulted by a bright flash and loud shrieking sound. The Rangers dropped the cannon and held their heads to block out the shriek, while the remaining Pudgy Pigs were all destroyed. The shriek and flash died down and the Rangers found themselves alone in the middle of a battered town square, confused as to what just happened.

"Let's get back to the Command Center," White Ranger finally said, "Maybe Zordon can explain what's going on."

---

He saw the Rangers defeating the trio of Dark Warriors, he saw the Rangers being overwhelmed by a plethora of Pudgy Pigs, he saw the flash that had cleared the area of those hog monsters, and most of all, he felt an overwhelming surge of power that wasn't like anything he had felt in recent times. Lord Zedd immediately believed a higher power was at work here, which didn't bother him, but it wasn't anything he was completely familiar with, which did bother him. And yet...

_I feel as though I've felt this before_, he thought, _something I haven't felt in ages._

Zedd slowly marched past Goldar towards his throne, although the fleshman's staggering march didn't escape the Titan's notice. He didn't want to bring that up, much less upset his master. Instead, he opted to deliver news that were given to him by Finster.

"My lord, I have just received word from Rita," Goldar reported, "She says she will be returning from Delmar Prime in one Earth week."

Zedd nodded. "Leave me, Goldar. I have some thinking to do concerning the next step of my plan."

To be continued


	3. Part 3

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 3  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

Here's the next one. Enjoy and review.

---

For the past hour, the hunter surveyed the city of Angel Grove. The more she had traveled around the city, the more she had grown to appreciate the lush beauty and innocence of the town that she hadn't encountered all her life of traveling. The hunter had seen the various people and thought them to be a good-natured folk as opposed to the dredges of the universe she had to deal with in past years.

She took a quick look at herself and sighed. Her current attire would obviously attract a crowd and she didn't really need the attention, so she went to the cheapest clothing shop and brought herself more appropriate attire. In the end, she settled for a white shirt and black pants, with the coin hanging around her neck on a cord. A single piece of rubber band tied her shoulder-length black hair together, completing the look.

Next door to the clothing shop was a small tavern. The hunter preferred to get a quick drink before she could go any further, so she went insde. The interior of the bar had a fresh, almost futuristic look to it that made the hunter appreciate the design. Most bars she had gone to were dirty and full of filth, but this place was clean, almost spotless. Satisfied with the establishment, she approached a barstool and sat on it. On cue, a tall, slender man in his mid-40s emerged from the back, wearing a buttoned-shirt and sweatpants.

"What can I getcha, honey?" The waiter's bellow was loud but pleasing. "I don't have any beer anymore, since the city passed the ban on alcoholic products three days ago."

The hunter merely smiled. "Just a tall cup of black coffee will do fine. Thanks."

The bartender nodded and prepared a brew via coffee-maker. "You new around here?"

"I guess you could call me a visitor of these parts," she replied, "I'm only here for a couple of days on business."

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Really? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a bounty hunter." The girl had expected the bartender to go into shock, but he wasn't too startled about the announcement, although she couldn't help but noticed the surprise on his face.

The bartender took the prepared pot from the coffee-maker and began pouring a cup. "Bounty hunter? Really?"

The girl nodded. "Some people find the job revolting, but it pays the bills, I suppose."

"Hey, I'm not complaining," the bartender said, placing the cup of coffee before the girl, "My brother used to bounty hunt around the world for a couple years, but he messed up his leg real bad an' had to retire. Nasty business, this is."

"True." The girl nodded as she took a quick sip of the coffee. The strong concentration of caffeine aside, she thought it was an excellent beverage and took small sips, so that she could savor the flavor.

"By the way," the bartender said, "the name's Anthony. What's yours?"

The girl smiled. "Mine's Gillian."

---

The Command Center was filled with more activity as the trusted robot known as Alpha 5 bounced from one control console to the other, checking on various readings of each. After some time, six beams of light and the six Ranger teens emerged in the middle of the Command Center circle.

"What's going on, Zordon?" Tommy asked, "What did Zedd send us this time?"

"Ayaiyaiyaiyai, Tommy! It's not Zedd!" Alpha shrieked, "It's much more powerful than anything we've ever encountered!!"

Billy checked through the reports printouts from the computer console. He squinted his eyes to see if the readings were playing tricks on him, but he confirmed they weren't. He shook his head, not wanting to believe what he was reading. His disbelieving look didn't escape the Rangers' notice.

"What is it, Billy?" Rocky asked, "What's wrong?"

"Whatever it is, it must be a powerful being." Billy turned towards the other Rangers. "According to these readings, the power signature is rather similar to our own Power Coins, if not moreso."

Tommy looked ahead. "Could this be another Power coin, Zordon?"

Zordon hesitated for a moment before he gave an answer, his voice rather unsettled and unsure. "_I was hoping this day would never come. Whoever this intruder is, she may have possession of the Eighth Power Coin._"

"Eighth coin?" Billy repeated, perplexed. "I don't understand, Zordon."

"_According to ancient legends,_" Zordon explained, trying to keep a calm voice, "_there were eight Power Coins created in a circle of colors; red, yellow, blue, pink, black, green, white, and a colorless coin. The coins were not originally intended to be used for morphing powers. They were powerful devices that bore powers far beyond those you know them to possess. They were either a wondrous tool or a malevolent destructive force._

_"When I originally found the five power coins originally, I've studied the ancient texts that came along with them. I've learned the history of previous holders of the coins using them for their own purposes, both noble and otherwise. Seldom few could control the full power of the coins, others grew insane as the power of the coins corrupted their minds, and in some cases, let us just say that they should have never bothered."_

"Ouch" was Kimberly's honest reply.

_"To prevent future users of the coins from tapping the coin's full power," Zordon continued, "I had discovered that several of these coins had morphigenic properties and that their power could be harnessed safely through morphing technology. After several decades of research, the Power Morphers were created. As we gathered more information, we've learned the existence of three other coins; the green coin that was in Rita's possession, the white coin of which was discovered in recent times, and the Eighth coin, which was considered mythical because no one was ever willing to confirm its existence._

"_While the seven coins you now hold allow you to morph into Power Rangers due to the unique morphigenic properties, the Eighth coin has no such properties, making morphing impossible. According to myths, the coin serves as a connector source of the other seven and its power levels dwarf those of the other coins."_

The blaring klaxon sounded, cutting off Zordon's speech. Alpha punched up an image on the Viewing Globe, showing a teenaged girl having a cup of coffee in a bar. At first, Billy found nothing peculiar about that, except that her body was letting off a faint purple glow thanks to the Viewing Globe's extra sensory modes.

"That girl must have the coin," Alpha concluded. "It's the only reason the alarm is triggered."

Tommy nodded and turned towards the others. "Let's do this, guys."

"_Be careful, Power Rangers,_" Zordon warned, "_You are not dealing with another monster. The bearer of this coin has the ability to manipulate the Morphing Grid itself and if provoked, she will not hesitate to unleash the awesome power of the coin. Her power far exceeds anything Rita and Zedd have ever devised."_

Tommy nodded. "Right. It's morphin time!"

---

Anthony the bartender enjoyed the company of the bounty hunter Gillian, who told grand stories of her previous adventures. Of course, Gillian was using Earth-based locations as cover-ups, when in fact, her adventuring days took her far beyond this blue planet. Gillian noticed Anthony's face suddenly shift from joyful to fearful as he saw something past her that absolutely startled him. Gillian didn't move, but made a quick glance at the large windows behind her, noticing six costumed characters standing outside.

"Holy crap!" Anthony shouted in terror, "Power Rangers?!"

Anthony scuttled to the back in fear of what might happen. Gillian, however, didn't move, but instead just sat there calmly, continuing to sip down her coffee. The Rangers entered the bar, but kept their distance from Gillian, who continued to not face them, as if she didn't care or wasn't interested.

"So," she said, her tone disinterested at best, "you're the Power Rangers. I'm hardly impressed."

The Rangers looked among themselves as this girl addressed them, not believing the tone and tact that she was pulling on them.

"That's right," White Ranger replied as he would to any other threat, "And whatever you're up, we're here to stop you!"

Gillian thought for a moment and smiled. The smile soon turned into an amused laugh. She couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably, which got the Rangers grimacing in embarrassment. "Stop me? From doing what?" She winced in realization, her amused mood not spoiled. "Oh, I get it. You like to eavesdrop on other people's conversations and you overheard that I was a bounty hunter. So you came to stop me from drinking the dreaded coffee of doom." She paused to drink up the last bit of coffee remaining in her cup. "Well, you're too late. I drank all of it and now I'm going to rule the world."

"I don't think so," White Ranger said, "There's no way we'll let Rita and Zedd take over."

Gillian raised an eyebrow, as if she realized she was dealing with idiots. She smiled at the thought. "Wow, you must really have a one-track mind. And I thought the leader of the most elite force was supposed show some sign of intelligence."

Tommy groaned in response. Much to the dismay of White Ranger, Blue Ranger stepped forward to address Gillian. "Do you know anything about the coin you're wearing?"

_The coin?_ she thought to herself. _Is that what they're here for?_

"As a matter of fact," she spoke calmly, "I do. I had my suspicions about it, but yes, I know I possess the Eighth Power coin."

The White Ranger stepped ahead, pushing Blue Ranger aside. "Hand it over, then!" he commanded, a hint of authority dominating his tone. "It doesn't belong to you!"

The hunter extended her right fisted and opened it. A beam of red energy shot from her palm and blasted the White Ranger in the chest, pushing him back. The others rushed towards the leader to check on him, who slowly got back on his feet. The White Ranger tried again and dashed at Gillian, but Gillian simply backhanded him on the side of the head, causing the Ranger to tumble over and crash through the table. The table shattered on impact and White Ranger seemed to be half-buried in it.

"This coin doesn't belong to you anymore than it does me," Gillian said, "I've been holding on to this coin for far longer than you've been doing this."

Gillian looked at the one table that was destroyed and sighed. She half-stood on one leg and reached for something her pocket. Believing that she might be pulling out a weapon, the remaining Rangers summoned their own Power Weapons and went into their standard poses. To their amazement and disbelief, Gillian did not pull out a weapon, but rather a sizeable summon of hundred dollar bills. She rolled several bills and wrapped a rubber band around it, but before she could do anything with it, she noticed the armed Rangers.

"It's just money, kids," Gillian mused, "I was going to pay poor Anthony over there for the coffee and the damage you caused."

"Wh-What?!" Black Ranger spouted, "You smacked him through the table!"

Gillian smiled and raised an accusing finger at the Rangers. "And it wouldn't have happened if you had waited until I was finished with my coffee and we could have met in a rock quarry or something, where nothing was in harm's way. It's not that hard a concept to grasp, guys. I may kill people for a living, but I'm not that cruel."

She tossed the roll of money to the backdoor and waited for Anthony to grab the money and give a thumbs up. Gillian finally stood from her stool and walked towards the exit, pushing the various Rangers aside. Before she went any further, she stopped and took a quick stroll towards the White Ranger, who was still lying on his back with pieces of table over him. She went on her knees.

"I could be your best friend," Gillian whispered to the Ranger's ear, "Or I could be your worst nightmare. But if you really want a fight, let's do this in an endless desert or something."

Again, Gillian walked past the Rangers and out the door. Before the Rangers could react, Gillian vanished in a flash of light. After a long time of being idle, White Ranger finally mustered the strength to get on his feet, although it would take more time to regain his composure.

---

Lord Zedd had witnessed the events that had occurred. He had gotten a good look at the human female who took down the White Ranger with a single blow. He had especially gotten a close look at the coin around her neck. Red energy was practically bleeding from his vision beam and when he turned away, his visor continued to bleed energy. Goldar had never seen Zedd like this before, possibly because he had never seen Zedd this anxious.

Zedd stomped towards the winged titan, his body glowing red brighter than before. "Goldar, I want that accursed coin. And I want it NOW!"

Goldar trembled as Zedd stormed out of the chamber of command. He had been accustomed to Zedd in anger, but he hadn't expected Zedd to lash out the way he did. It took a moment for Goldar to regain his composure and stared at the emerald planet outside the balcony of the palace. Letting out a silent growl, Goldar shook his head lightly.

_To be continued..._


	4. Part 4

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 4  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author. Characters such as the hunter and the bartender are my own.

So here's Part 4. Concerning the less-than-friendly nature of the meeting previous chapter stated by a review (thanks), there's a reason for that, as you'll soon find out... next chapter. But for now, enjoy this chapter.

---

Goldar walked through the dingy halls of the palace and into the processing center, where many of Zedd's Putty Patrol soldiers were being produced. He looked around at the several fresh stock created, helping out in adding more numbers to their army. The Titan didn't understand the meaning of this, but he knew it had something to do with Lord Zedd's master plan and that would be a one-way battle. Goldar realized that the processor wasn't just processing a large number of Putty stock, but the remaining stock. And there was more than two thousand Putty soldiers that could be produced out of this remaining stock. It would surely be a quick battle that will overwhelm the Rangers.

The Rangers... the mere thought of the human warriors also brought up Goldar's worries of his master over the obsession of an eighth Power Coin. While he had heard of such an instrument, he had always considered it to be nothing more than folklore. Even if such a coin exists, the Titan found this as an opportunity to accomplish a grand-scale assault and earn the respect of his masters. Renewed by newfound goals, Goldar approached the lead putty.

"I want you to select several monsters from the tubes and attack the city," he told the lead putty, "We need to draw out the warrior with that coin."

---

"Well, that went well," Rocky quibbled as he took a bite out of Ernie's Pita. "Any other bright ideas, Tommy?"

Billy nodded in agreement. He took a quick sip of his smoothie before he said, "I have to admit that was fairly uncharacteristic of you, Tommy. We don't know anything about this girl and yet you decide to threaten her?"

Tommy stiffened a bit. "Get a grip, guys. For all we know, she could be an agent of evil. Zordon told us to be careful with this girl. She's capable of anything."

"He also told us not to provoke her, Tommy," Kim stated bluntly, "And bullying her to giving away the coin was a little harsh."

Tommy sighed as his shoulders lowered in embarrassment. There was no way he was going to win this fight. Before another word could spoke, the familiar tone chimed from the communicators. Almost instinctively, the six Rangers got up from their table and went to their hiding place in the Youth Center, checking to see if anyone was around before teleporting. However, for the first time in a while, their spot was filled with people, prompting Tommy to mouth profanity without actually saying it.

"We'll have to find another way out," the White Ranger said, "Let's go."

The Rangers turned away from the locals and walked out of the Youth Center through the main exit. They rushed to a spot behind the building, which seemed to be devoid of life. After confirming that the coast was clear, Tommy raised his wrist communicator before him. Before he could respond, a brief yet powerful quake caught the Rangers off-guard. From the distance, they could see massive explosions of buildings being destroyed. Emerging from the massive layers of smoke was a familiar giant in gold armor.

"Goldar," Tommy spat, clutching his fists together. "Just what we don't need."

"This is the third time today!" Rocky observed, "What's going on here all of a sudden?"

"R--ge-s," Alpha's voice sizzled through the communicators, "Gol---'s on the lo-se."

Billy tried to adjust his communicator a bit, but to no avail. "The communication signal's being jammed - possibly due to Command Center's recent problems - but I don't think teleportation is being affected."

"Okay," Tommy nodded, "let's get to the Command Center."

---

The accommodations weren't all that great, but the hunter Gillian didn't mind. She's seen worse and considering her stay here wasn't going to be a long one, she didn't really need much. Without much to do, she laid on the small bed and pondered about her meeting with the Rangers. She somehow knew about their association with Zordon, but her mind reflected back to six faces she never recognized before, yet knew so well. She could surmise that these faces were the ones behind the masks of the Rangers.

Gillian took the coin off from her neck and stared at it for a moment. Its power was constantly flowing into her body by means of which she can't understand. In some agonizing way, the coin was doing something to those around her mentally that's causing them to be obsessive over the relic. Or maybe she was the one being obsessive, she couldn't really tell. But since no one on Earth had heard of the Eighth Coin, she felt somewhat safer, but not by much.

Her train of thought was disrupted with a slight rumbling noise. The light shaking that followed didn't startle her, but the huge explosions in the distance did grow some concern. She looked on as she noticed a giant Titan warrior roaming around the city, shooting laser beams from his eyes, causing much havoc in the city. She had remembered what Anthony the bartender told her about these monster attacks being a constant thing, but the situation seemed much more serious than a mere attack.

"He must be looking for the coin too," she said, "Is this over power or obsession?"

Gillian changed to her old garbs, which doubled as combat armor. She placed the coin on her palm and soon began to cover the coin with wrappings, making sure to apply the wrappings firmly so that the coin wouldn't just fall off. Even without willing the power, she could feel the sudden surge of power flowing through her body. It was nothing she could handle, but even Gillian didn't know what this thing possessed. She raised the window and leapt out, extending her arms outward. As she fell, two medium-length swords formed in her hands, each blade colored a slight tint of green.

When she landed on the surface, a shockwave of wind occurred that flung all sorts of fallen debris to many directions. The debris didn't cause too much damage, but it would have scared a bunch of people close by. Gillian surveyed the streets and looked up at the massive monster, who was slowly approaching her. Again, instinct was telling her not to provoke a battle with this monster, so she decided to flee. But before she could run, she was quickly surrounded by clay creatures she recognized as putties. There were about twenty of them, all of them running at her. She pulled out her and ran at the approaching storm of putties.

---

"Rangers!" Alpha shrieked as the Rangers materialized in the Command Center, where the klaxons were blaring louder than they usually did. "Goldar is attacking downtown Angel Grove and there is a growing presence of monsters in that same area."

The Rangers turned to see the viewing globe as the images shifted from Goldar marching and destroying buildings with his eye lasers to Putty Patrollers and various fish monsters of the past wrecking havoc in the city streets as people ran away screaming in terror. The Rangers quickly turned to face their mentor.

"_This is the third attack from Lord Zedd since yesterday,_" Zordon observed. "_It must be a major offensive maneuver to weaken your strength, but I cannot determine for what diabolical purpose._"

"It's more than that, Zordon!" Alpha shrieked, "Look at the viewing globe!"

The Rangers turned towards the viewing globe, where they saw the hunter dash at the growing army of Putty Patrollers and various fish monsters. Tommy clenched his fists and stared on as the realization of this attack's true purpose was; to drive the bearer of the coin from hiding.

"It's the girl with the coin," Kim said aloud, "They must be after it too."

"_We cannot let Rita and Zedd get that coin under any circumstances,_" the sage warned, "_To do so will grant them an enormous source of power that can destroy us all._"

"You guys go after the girl," Tommy ordered, "I'll handle Goldar with the Tigerzord."

"You sure about that?" Rocky asked.

Tommy nodded. "Positive, man. Let's do it."

---

For a short while, Gillian managed to effectively hold off the Putties with the two blades in her hand. However, the larger fish creatures, whom later showed up along with the rest of the Putties, proved to be more than a challenge. Things were going smoothly until one of the fish creatures managed a lucky shot that shattered one of her swords, leaving her with one sword. She held the remaining sword two-handed and soon her attacks were more ferocious that the creature couldn't keep up and was destroyed as a result. When the numbers were slowly steadying against her, she managed a backflip that easily covered several feet away from the bulk of monsters. When she landed, she continued to sprint away from the creatures until she cross an intersection.

Gillian turned to face the approaching army of monsters and extended her sword overhead. The blade soon began to glow in shifting colors and with a buildup of energy so massive she could no longer contain it, Gillian swung the blade and marveled as a energy blade formed from it, growing with each passing micro-second. The blade Gillian swung was normally two feet long, but the energy blade that extended from it covered several miles, which was enough to take down the entire putty army and few of the fish creatures in one slash. The second, somewhat shorter slash finished off those that weren't already destroyed.

Just before she could retreat, she was met with several bolts. She turned her attention towards the source, the blasters of the five Power Rangers. She stared ahead as the five disarmed their blasters and did their battle poses. Gillian looked on as a rage built within her. Her eyes began to glow a faint purple, startling the Rangers and forcing them to take a step back. Gillian swung the sword again, causing another energy blade to take down the Rangers. The blow obviously wasn't strong enough to take out the Rangers, who were slowly regaining their footing and Gillian held the sword firmly overhead, undaunted by the challengers before her

"There's no way you're getting your hands on this coin!" the hunter blurted out, "It's mine!!"

"Calm down!" Blue Ranger called out, "We're not your enemy!"

"The hell you're not!" the hunter spat as she sent a beam from her sword at the Rangers. The beam was enough to knock all five to the ground without much effort. Rocky was first to recover and leapt at Gillian, but when he landed, he found that the hunter was missing. A second later, Rocky turned and felt the full-brunt of a energy burst from the hunter, enough to send him crashing through the side of the building.

Gillian was soon side-tracked by several bolts fired from the Black Ranger's Power Axe. Most of them missed the hunter completely and the ones that did hit bounced off her body, devastating a nearby building's wall. Gillian fired several of her own bolts at the Black Ranger, who dodged most of them and leapt at the hunter. The hunter leapt at the Ranger and both collided with each other while airborne. With sword in hand, Gillian struck Adam across the chest, sparks flying from the cut area as the Black Ranger crumbled to the ground.

All that stood before Gillian were the remaining three Rangers, who quickly summoned the Power Cannon. Gillian dropped her blade and extended both arms ahead. A bulky weapon, comprised of other weapons, formed in her hands, much to the surprise of the other Rangers, all of whom quickly recognized what the hunter was holding in her hands. A weapon that needed five people to hold it in balance.

"How did she get a Power Blaster?!" Aisha blurted out in surprise.

She didn't get an answer, but she did manage to narrowly dodge several beams coming from the blaster. Billy narrowly escaped the blast, but Kim wasn't so lucky, taking a full blast that knocked her to the wall. Having Kim down was bad enough, but Billy noticed that the blast was enough to cause her Ranger suit to vanish, leaving her in civilian clothes. Instinctively, Billy ran at Kimberly to check on her, but when he got there, he saw that the demorphed Ranger was unconscious. Billy looked as the hunter clashed with Aisha, who was having a hard time.

_That's it_, he thought, _we're in trouble_.

---

It didn't take long for Tommy to summon his Thunderzord and just as quickly as it emerged from its hiding place, the White Tigerzord marched through the city streets to meet up with the giant-sized Goldar, who turned to face his old adversary for a moment and turned away. The Tigerzord shot a couple of tigerbolts at the Titan, which had little effect. Tommy then implemented the stronger bolts by inserting the Tigerorb behind him into the slot. The stronger bolts didn't phase Goldar, but they did get his attention and Goldar replied with several eye beams. Tigerzord marched through the exploding bolts unphased and summoned its sword.

"Go away, Ranger!" Goldar growled. "I have no time to deal with you!"

Tommy laughed. "You should have known better than to cause mayhem in my city, monkey-face."

Tigerzord began its approached, but before it could extend its sword, the Tigerzord froze. It did not go back to a standing position, tumble downward, nor did the failsafe security measure kick-in, where the Zord would fade away and return to its hiding place. It just stood there with the sword firmly in the zord's hand, no signs of moving or creaking. Goldar was dumbfounded by this occurrence and was almost hesitant to strike at the Tigerzord, thinking it to be an elaborate baiting strategy on the White Ranger. But then he dismissed the thought and found pleasure in the fact that perhaps his enemy has lost control, leaving him open to whatever intention the Titan had in mind.

In the cockpit, White Ranger desperately tried to figure out what happened. Anything he tried had no effect. When he peered towards Saba's control port, he saw that his enchanted saber was missing from the command port. Without Saba in the port, the Tigerzord cannot and will not function. White Ranger would attribute this to faulty memory, but he did remember inserting Saba into the port. Before he could think of anything else, Goldar struck Tigerzord with a quick swipe of his sword. Tigerzord did not flinch however, but it did tumble to the ground, smashing a nearby building into smithereens.

"Alpha!" White Ranger spoke through his communicator. "My zord's out! I need help!"

Goldar saw the incapacitated White Tigerzord with a certain sense of pleasure. Whether the fate smiled upon the Titan with this event was an afterthought at best. He had his long time foe right where he wanted him, and now he had the chance to finish off the cancer called the White Ranger.

To be continued...


	5. Part 5

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 5  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

Sorry for the delay. Here's the fifth chapter - lots of fighting.

---

White Ranger tried everything he could think of to bring some semblance of life back into the motionless Tigerzord, but to no avail. Without Saba in the command port, nothing on the zord functioned. It wasn't long before Goldar delivered a mighty kick across the Tigerzord's chest, causing heavy damage to vital systems. The Titan continued his stomping, each blow causing massive explosions across the impact areas of the Tigerzord, but none of them could knock it out of its still state. After a minute of stomping, Goldar stopped and took a step back. He took his sword with both hands and raised it overhead, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"GOLDAR!"

Goldar dropped the sword as soon as he heard the voice of his master and looked up to find a translucent image of Lord Zedd in the blue Terran sky, looking over the Titan like a god. Goldar felt like trembling, but managed to maintain his composure before the fleshman lord.

"My emperor," Goldar bowed, "I am close to triumphing over the White Ranger!"

Zedd growled. "FORGET THE WHITE RANGER, YOU FOOL! THE COIN BEARER IS GETTING AWAY!"

"But Master," the Titan whimpered pleadingly. "This may be our only chance to finish off..."

"I said forget him! The Coin is all that matters now!" With that, Zedd's ghostly image disappeared from the sky as quickly as it had appeared.

Goldar stared down at the Tigerzord and took a step back. "You are lucky that Zedd is interested in that coin, White Ranger. Because I would have destroy you right without restraint!" Upon saying those last words, the Titan vanished in a heap of flames.

Tommy let out a sigh of relief, but he was still stuck with a non-functioning Tigerzord. As his mind pondered to what else he could try out,

"Are you alright, Tommy?" Zordon asked over the communicator.

"Barely," White Ranger replied, "Saba's missing. One minute he's in the command port and the next minute, he's not there."

"I know," the sage replied nervously, though Tommy didn't notice. "I cannot properly explain it other than that it has something to do with the Eighth Coin."

Tommy decided to change the subject. "What about the others?"

"_The Rangers are fighting the hunter on Main Street,_" Zordon answered, "_Things aren't looking good, Tommy. The hunter is manhandling the Rangers like putties. She is proving to be a formidable opponent. Your presence might be needed._"

Tommy sighed, mouthing profanity without actually saying it. "I'm on my way, Zordon. But the Tigerzord needs to be manually teleported back to its hiding place. I doubt it'll automatically go back."

"_Alpha will take care of it,_" Zordon stated, "_Good luck, White Ranger._"

Tommy nodded and with a flick of his belt buckle, teleported out in a flash of white light.

---

The fight had been fierce. With Rocky and Adam knocked down from previous attacks and Kimberly knocked out completely, only Billy and Aisha stood against the hunter Gillian, who had pulled out everything from their old Power Blaster to their individual weapons. From the distance as he slowly regained his senses, Rocky was clearly frustrated at the way things were going. This enemy seemed almost unstoppable, as any distanced attack was deflected and any close-up attack was quickly blocked and countered. There seemed to be no weakness.

Rocky shook off his thoughts and pulled out his Blade Blaster, pushing the setting to maximum power. Frantically, he fired several bolts from his blaster. None of them hit Gillian or the two Rangers she was fighting, but it did get her attention. She tossed aside the Power Sword and summoned another saber. Behind the Red Ranger mask, Rocky's eyes widened as he saw the enchanted saber Saba in her hand... not a replica, but the real deal.

With little time to react, Red Ranger was instantly bombared with beam blasts that Gillian had shot out. Rocky counted his lucky stars that Saba's beams weren't as powerful as Zordon boasted them to be or he would have surely been dead right there. Immediately, he summoned his own Power Sword and began deflecting the various beams with it. He was able to keep up easily, but the barrage of laser beams from Gillian would soon overwhelm him.

Behind him, Billy and Aisha regrouped with Adam, who had regained his bearings. The three soon formed the Power Cannon and inserted their respective charges. With the Cannon aimed at Gillian, the Rangers fired a powerful energy pulse at the hunter. Much to their surprise, Gillian was knocked away by the blast for the first time since the battle with the Rangers had begun. Just when the Rangers were starting to get the upper hand, they would soon be outnumbered by a considerable number of Putty Patrollers led by Goldar.

No warnings given, the three Rangers found themselves tackling with Putty Patrollers while Goldar turned his attention towards Gillian, who stood up and regained her senses. She looked up to the Titan as he unleashed a barrage of laser beams from his eyes. Instinctively, Gillian quickly deflected each beam with Saba efficiently, but each beam that was deflected would collide with a side of building, causing explosions and pieces of debris to shower the streets below. Rocky surveyed the battle between the two, wondering about how to strike first. He immediately tossed his Power Sword at Goldar, striking the Titan on the chest with sparks flying. The Titan turned his attention to the Red Ranger and fired several shots from his eyes, all of which Rocky was able to dodge. He then leapt at Goldar and landed a flying fist across the Titan's damaged chest armor, knocking Zedd's high warrior to the ground. Red Ranger turned to face Gillian, only to find that the hunter was no longer there.

_Where is she?_ Rocky thought.

Rocky's momentary lapse had given Goldar a free shot at the Red Ranger, who was struck with several eye beams from the Titan. Before Goldar could attack further, the White Ranger flew in and knocked Goldar down with a flying kick. Immediately, he rushed to Rocky, who was stood back up.

"You guys okay?" White Ranger asked.

"Oh, sure," Rocky answered sarcastically, "other than getting our butts kicked, we're doing just fine."

Tommy nodded and instinctively ran at Goldar. As per usual, the two warriors fought while Rocky rejoined the other Rangers (sans Kimberly, who was still unconscious) in taking on the Putties. Each of them knew that they were essentially fighting a losing battle; not only because of the overwhelming odds, but because of the fatigue from two earlier conflicts. This was most evident in White Ranger's attacks against the Titan, which were slow and sloppy as opposed the lightning-quick attacks he was accustomed to. Only adrenaline and desire to win were keeping him from collapsing from the massive drain.

The Black Ranger managed to eliminate several Putties, but more kept appearing and kept piling on top of him without end. The Yellow Ranger kept mostly airborne, taking out several Putties with her Blade Blaster. Despite being an effective strategy, it was taking a heavy toll on her and she knew she couldn't keep up. The Red Ranger masterfully fended off against the Putties that attacked him, but he too was expending more energy than he could muster. The Blue Ranger had summoned his Power Lance to keep various putties at bay, clearing a path as he ran towards the White Ranger, who had successfully destroyed several Putties.

"I hate to say this, Tommy," Blue Ranger shouted, "but we need to get out of here!"

"You're right, Billy," White Ranger replied begrudgingly, "Get Kim and tell Alpha to get us out of here-"

Tommy yelped when he felt his back explode with pain and slowly turned to find several monsters shooting energy beams of various colors. Tommy forcibly took Billy's lance and started deflecting various shots, moving the long staff swiftly and with relative ease. Billy knew that Tommy had slightly more stamina left than the rest of them, but knew that the White Ranger's power would not be enough to keep him here for long.

"Get the others and get out of here!" Tommy yelled, "I'll cover you!"

"No!" Billy argued, "We have to stick together!"

"JUST GO!" White Ranger ordered as he continued to block energy beams.

Billy hesitantly left Tommy behind and managed to reach the side of the building where he kept the unconscious Kimberly out of harm's way, clearing the way of putties as he got there. He looked behind his back as the other Rangers were trying to deal with the onslaught of putties, but knows the battle is growing futile as more monsters dropped in like flies. He peered to one more look at the battle-ravaged White Ranger, who dashed at the plethora of attacking monsters with intense ferocity. With no other options, Billy immediately reached for his wrist communicator and activated the comm switch.

"Alpha!" he cried frantically, "Get us out of here! NOW!"

On cue, Billy and the other five Rangers immediately vanished in colored light. Enraged that they had escaped his grasp, Goldar tossed his sword to the ground and growled a beastly roar, which was followed by a mass teleportation of all the soldiers back to their home base on the moon.

---

Gillian tended to the few wounds she had managed to suffer during the battle. Other than a few minor bruises, she didn't feel much pain and almost rejuvenated after only coming back to her rest room at the inn just moments earlier. After some time, she took off the wrappings of her hand to reveal the coin that she hid on her person from the others. The coin let off a small hint of colored energy as Gillian's eyes were affixed on the shifting of colored light caused by the coin.

"What is it about you that makes me obsessive and violent?" she asked rhetorically, "Is this the price for a relic as rare as you?"

Her mind quickly flashed back to the battles she has had since acquiring the coin. From the two guards she had slain at the temple to her recent battles with the Power Rangers, Gillian looked back at all the battles she had over the coin. However, her mind soon flashed to battles that does not directly involve her - a battle that she somehow knew was raging on right now. In her mind, she saw the White Ranger fight off against an army of monsters and was close to defeat. Of all the images her mind had produced over the past ninety seconds, Gillian was only able to sum up all she had seen - much to her ignorance - in one word... or rather one name.

"Thomas..."

---

Over the mountain terrain and desert, six teleport beams flew across the blue sky in a single direction towards an onimous structure in the background. The colored beams of light were consistent with each other, never veering off-course. This would quickly change when a quick energy projectile collided with the white teleport beam and soon the beam broke off course from the others and crashed onto the ground with a sickening thud.

From the fallen beam materialized the White Ranger, looking worse for wear as its suit suffered many scorch marks as a result of the ambush attack. Tommy slowly shook off the dizziness and regained his bearings when he got up and found himself surrounded by several monsters and twice as many Putty Patrollers of both the old types and Z-types. In a split-second, all the monsters fired energy beams that Tommy was able to dodge. One lucky shot struck him in the back, furthering damaging the back of his armor plate which had been struck by earlier barrages. Tommy leapt at one of the lizard creatures and tackled him to the ground, only to find several other monsters piling up over him.

From high above the mountains, Goldar smiled gleefully as he watched his greatest rival be defeated. Beside him, the fleshman lord Zedd materialized from red lightning and stood by the Titan, looking below as the battle raged.

"What's going on?" Zedd mused, "They were supposed to be preparing for the assault on the Command Center."

"One of the monsters shot down the White Ranger during teleportation," the Titan reported proudly, "They are currently delivering the final death blows. In the meantime, we still have thousands of monsters standing read for assault." He paused a moment before bringing up another point. "But sire, I do not understanding the reasoning behind an attack of this magnitude. I have seen this hunter fight the Rangers. It is quite obvious she had no allegiance with them."

Zedd nodded. "True, my loyal fool. Bear in mind that the hunter still retains the Eighth coin and its mere presence in such close proximities has caused an imbalance in the Morphing Grid. This means that the Command Center's defenses are in the fritz and the Rangers' powers are surely weakened from the battles that have come to pass earlier in the day. Zordon will suffer his greatest and final defeat, then I will rule this miserable planet with an iron fist and the bones of my enemies by my feet."

---

In the Command Center, Alpha performed various checks on the fallen Kimberly, who was hooked up to a life-support bed. Things did not seem as critical as originally expected, but Alpha determined it would take some time before she regained consciousness. On another console, Billy performed a wide-spectrum scan for Tommy as well as any evidence of what would disrupt his teleport. On the side, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha each paced around the center, anxiously wondering what the next move would be. Their thoughts were immediately answered when the alert klaxons blared through the center.

"What's going on, Zordon?" Rocky called out.

Zordon hesitated before replying. "_Rangers, there is a great disturbance several klicks from the Command Center. Observe the viewing globe._"

All four Rangers turned their attention towards the viewing globe. All four Rangers' jaws dropped at the sight of several monsters gathering beneath the shadow of the mountains. Billy frowned as the viewing globe shifted from one group of monsters to the next, with occasional images of an overview pan, which showed a moderately-sized army of enemy monsters positioned several kilometers from the main Command Center structure.

"There's over a hundred unique monsters and five hundred putties approaching the Command Center," Alpha commented, "And most of them are fully powered."

"Damn," Rocky spat, "we'd never fight them all off at full strength, let alone with two out of commission."

"But there's no way those monsters can get in the Command Center," Aisha pointed out uneasily, "Right?"

Zordon bowed his head lightly, knowing that the Rangers won't like what he has to say. "_Unfortunately, due to the sudden appearance and power insurgence of the Eighth Coin, the Command Center's defenses have been completely compromised._"

"We can't take this much punishment, not even for a second," Billy cautioned. "Right now, the Command Center is completely defenseless because of the fluctuations caused by the Eighth Coin. If any one of those monsters get in here, who knows what could happen?"

"None of them are getting in here," Rocky vowed, gripping onto his battered Power Sword, "Not if I have anything to say about it."

To be continued...


	6. Part 6

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 6  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

Here's the sixth chapter, which is a bit on the short side (well, to me anyway). I'll try and get the next one up sooner. Enjoy.

---

It was one of the cardinal rules that Zordon had established to all his troops and later on, his Ranger teams. Never escalate a battle, which includes raiding the enemy camp. It was a lesson that he had learned the hard way when he first confronted Rita on that fateful day before both their imprisonments. It was a lesson that Rita had not been ignorant of and for good reason, as it cost her 10,000 years of her eternal life.

Of course, someone neglected to inform Zedd of that ruling.

The monster army, lead by the Titan warrior known as Goldar, was slowly marching towards the Power Rangers's Command Center, which stood atop several mountains in the distance. Their mission was to claim the coin and in the process, finish off the accursed Rangers once and for all. The path onward was blocked when several monsters appeared before Goldar's troops. The group consisted of several silver-armored soldiers with curved double-handed honor swords, similar in design to the Klingon _bat'leth_. Leading the group was a slightly-bigger warrior made up of green-grid lines over a completely black body, armed with match curved sword.

"You?!" Goldar called out in recognition, "What are you doing here, Ecliptor?!"

The green-grid warrior known as Ecliptor took a brief step forward. "My princess had informed me of a great power source on this plains. My orders were to retrieve it."

The Titan nodded. "You're correct in assuming there is a great power here. But I will claim it for my Lord Zedd."

Ecliptor shook his head. "I doubt it, titan. Your pathetic army is no match for my team of Quantrons."

Goldar smiled as he gripped on his broadsword. "We'll just have to see about that."

On that note, the two generals of their respective leaders ran at each other. As soon as their swords clashed against each other, the rest of their respective monsters tackled each other. What had become a mission to finish off Earth's defenders had become a bloodbath with rivals...

---

Meanwhile, far from the battlefield. Tommy was nearing the end of his grip. For the past fifteen minutes, White Ranger took every single blow that the small but powerful monster group threw at him. Their offense was really irritating; not even allowing Tommy the luxury of counterattacking. He managed to roll away but found himself back to the side of a rockface, surrounded by the monster group. He immediately went to a defensive stance, letting out tired grunts. He knew this would be his last battle and he would go down fighting.

As fate would have it, several beams of light shot from the sky, knocking back several of the monsters on the front lines. White Ranger rolled out of the way as several more beams dug into the ground, causing explosions that knocked down several more monsters. When White Ranger got a clear view as to the source, he couldn't believe that it was her. It was the hunter who possessed what Zordon called the Eighth Coin and who had attacked the Rangers early on. It was hard to tell whether she was helping him or them, but his thoughts were put to rest when the hunter took down two Knasty Knights with effective ease. She made her way to check on the Ranger.

"You okay, Thomas?" the hunter asked.

White Ranger flinched at the mention of his name. "Barely. How do you know who I am?"

"The coin told me somehow," Gillian spat, "Save the questions for later. Let's clear these guys off."

Tommy nodded (although still confused) and engaged the closest monster, a regenerated Trumpet-Top. Suddenly, White Ranger was charged with newfound energy that enabled him match Trumpet-Top move for move. A missed Trumpet-Top move gave White Ranger the opening he need, delivering a snapping kick to the chest that knocked the monster down and caused him to blink out of existence. With no time for rest, Tommy jumped towards two other familiar adversaries.

Gillian took care of the putties easily, but soon found herself pitted against Polluticorn and Gnarly Knome. Only with the coin's power was she able to withstand their inducing attacks and with a well-timed energy beam, she defeated the two monsters. Her attention turned to several monsters dashing at her and with a swing of her blade, an energy burst shot out and knocked the monsters down. With a peek, she saw the White Ranger dealing with two fish monsters and was taking a beating. With a snap of her fingers, the Ranger's saber appeared in her hands and Gillian soon tossed it at the monster closest to Tommy. Saba's blade pierced through the outer skin of the monster, allowing Tommy to pull it out and deliver a final slash that vanquished the monster.

With Saba in hand, White Ranger began taking out monster after monster with vicious slashes and roundhouse kicks that had not been used in such aggression since his Green Ranger days. His mind wasn't focused on neither his his well-being, but rather focused on taking down anything that moved. It was this aggression that had given the adrenaline rush he needed to keep fighting. It was this manic style of fighting that caused several monsters to back off while others fell before his wrath. Within minutes, the remaining monsters retreated and soon the White Ranger and Gillian were alone.

As quickly as it had formed, the aggressiveness in Tommy soon faded and left him in a confused state. He wondered as to why he suddenly felt that rage overwhelm him when he had been able to contain it in the past. With no answer popping to mind, he turned to this hunter who had come to his aid a short time after having fought the other Rangers to a standstill.

"Thanks for the helping hand," White Ranger said bitterly, "Although I have to admit, I don't know why you're trying to be my friend all of a sudden."

Gillian stared at the Ranger for a moment before she said, "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"As far away from here as possible," Gillian answered flatly, "We haven't much time."

"What about the other Rangers?" Tommy asked dumbfounded.

"They're on their own," she replied bitterly, "For now."

---

Despite outnumbering the small group of Quantrons, the monsters under Goldar's command were getting massacred by the skill fighters. From the distance, Goldar and Ecliptor continued to fight, neither one able to land a successful blow to the other. When Goldar missed with a sword slash, Ecliptor struck the titan's face with the tip of his elbow. The blow was enough to open a wound below Goldar's left eye, blood slowly trickling from the open wound. Goldar growled ferociously and shot deadly beams from his eyes that impacted Ecliptor in the chest, causing small explosions and knocking down the green-grid warrior.

The Quantrons battled Zedd's monsters and delivered swift defeat to all that crossed their paths with quick efficiency. Only two Quantrons were defeated and torn apart by the various monsters and putties, but the remaining fifteen were more than enough to eliminate the remaining monsters. When the last Putty was defeated, the Quantrons cheered in victory, only to bombarded by an army of Silver Horns and Repellitors. Repellitors did most of the melee fighting while Silver Horns kept their distance and fired electron beams at the various Quantrons. The beams had no effect, but provided the needed distraction.

Goldar and Ecliptor stared each other down with making a single move for a full minute. Quickly, Ecliptor summoned a translucent projection of himself towards the Titan, who was able to destroy the projection with his sword. By doing so, Goldar left himself open and Ecliptor capitalized with a quick dash followed up with a brutal uppercut that sent the Titan hurling in the air and crashing down with a thud. Ecliptor threw himself to the air and extended his sword downward as he dove at the downed Titan. Goldar, knowing Ecliptor's intent, extended his sword upward and from the blade flew a small number of fireballs that completely enveloped Ecliptor. The Titan soon rolled out of the way, seeing his opponent crash onto the ground on the spot where Goldar was.

Other than a slight cut under his eye, Goldar was tiring but wasn't in great pain. Ecliptor's body was smoking all over, but the warrior slowly stood up without fatigue to disrupt him. Nonetheless, both had to admit this to be their toughest battle out of all they have had.

---

"How's Kimberly, Alpha?" Billy asked as he observed Alpha doing a scan over Kimberly's prone body.

"She's in a deep sleep, Billy," Alpha replied regretfully, "The enhanced blow of the hunter's Power Blaster along with the ill effects of her high fever did its damage. She will recover, but not for anytime soon."

Rocky clenched his fists together. "And meanwhile, we have warring monsters just outside our doorstep."

"Where's Tommy?" Aisha asked, "It's already been half an hour."

"I do not know, Aisha," Zordon answered bitterly, "But I am certain he is not in any danger."

"The bigger concern is finding the hunter," Billy added, "If we find her, we might get some answers about this sudden strategy that Zedd is pulling off."

"_I am afraid there is more to it than that, Rangers,_" the sage interjected, "_As we speak, the forces lead by Goldar is battling another enemy force lead by Ecliptor, bodyguard to an upstart princess named Astronema._"

Aisha rolled her eyes. "You mean there's someone worse than Rita and Zedd?"

Alpha shook his head. "Astronema never had any interest in Earth, but the sudden presence of the Eighth Coin on this planet must be a contributing factor to her sending Ecliptor here."

Billy groaned and hung his head in agony, which caught the attention of everyone in the Command Center chamber.

"This day just goes from bad to worse, doesn't it?"

To be continued...


	7. Part 7

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 7  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

Note: Yeah, it's later than intended. If you're still around, thanks and enjoy this seventh chapter.

---

Rocky looked on at the action progressing just outside the Command Center walls through the Viewing Globe, where the various monsters are now at war with each other. This sudden turn of events did nothing to calm him, because whoever walks away from that scuffle will have a very large target before them. He turned back to the others to check on them. He saw Billy working with Alpha on the console, hoping to break Kimberly out of her unconscious state. He saw Adam and Aisha each

"We obviously can't do much here now," Rocky whispered, "I suggest taking a brief look around the place to see if everything looks good."

Adam and Aisha nodded and left the main chamber. It wasn't the greatest idea, but it gave them something to do while Billy did his work. His eyes leaned back to the Viewing Globe as it constantly shifted images of the fighting. Rocky almost let out an audible groan as he saw more monsters teleport in.

"How's it going, Billy?" Rocky asked.

Billy turned to Rocky and gave a reassuring nod. "Good news is Kim's going to recover; it'll just be a matter of time."

"Excellent. What about the outside interference?"

Billy frowned. "Bad news is that even with a full team, we're still outnumbered and the odds aren't necessarily in our favor."

Rocky hung his head. _That wasn't what I wanted to hear, Billy._

---

Through the uses of his enhanced vision, Zedd observed the distraught in-fighting going on between Goldar's forces and those sent by Dark Specter's upstart apprentice. While none could see the contorted expressions on his face, his posture alone gave away Zedd's apparent outrage and apparent worry (yes, he does worry. He just won't show it) that his glorious plan would fall apart once again, only without the Power Rangers' interference.

"This isn't going well," he muttered, "I'll have to think of drastic measures."

And so, out of options and in his hour of desperation, Zedd did the one thing he thought he would never have to do in this lifetime. The one thing that was a mere afterthought of amusement was now the one thing he had to do or else the coin would be lost to Astronema's puppet.

"Finster!" he called out, "Get down to the Alchemy lab! It's time to activate the Reaper."

---

The packs of Putties, Quantrons, and various monsters continued to fight brutally, with neither gaining a significant advantage on the other. Zedd's monsters, the mythological types from random objects and his own archive, were no match for the advanced robotic forces of Astronema, but they were holding their own. As the fighting among each other grew more stagnant, the duel between their respective commanders, Goldar and Ecliptor, was also closer to its end without a decisive winner.

"Your style has changed, titan," Ecliptor commented as he struggled to get a blow in. "It's too defensive."

Goldar smirked, managing to disarm his opponent's sword. "Merely a different approach, android."

The two dropped away from each other and extended their hands ahead, where lightning beams struck each other, creating an airborne explosion that knocked them back even further. Goldar shot several beams from his eyes, but none of them phased Ecliptor, who merely walked through them as if they were nothing. The Titan stepped back a little more until he bumped into another Quantron and, in a flash of anger, he dug his fingers into the Quantron's back and tossed the soldier at Ecliptor, who used his sword to slice the flying obstacle in half and continued his approach.

"You think tossing one of my soldiers will stop me, fool?" the black warrior grunted, "I assure you it'll take a lot more than THAT!"

Ecliptor broke from his methodical pacing to a quick run, but Goldar did not flinch. Instead, he took the warrior's sword that had laid on the ground and held it with his left hand. Ecliptor stopped in his tracks and held his arms up to block whatever attack Goldar would do with the two swords. No attack came, however, and when the bodyguard to Astronema dropped his arms, he saw the Titan extended Ecliptor's sword to him. Goldar turned to the fighting crowd and extended his sword upwards, prompting the fighting to slowly come to a halt.

"What are you doing?" Ecliptor demanded as he reluctantly grabbed his sword from Goldar.

"This fighting is getting us nowhere, android," the Titan murmered, "While we fight over who gets the coin, the Rangers and their 'ally' are probably developing a means to send the coin elsewhere and preparing for the eventual attack on their Command Center."

Ecliptor thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement. "I agree. So what do you suggest we do?"

"Let us combine our forces and take on the Rangers' Command Center," offered Goldar, "We defeat the Rangers, then we fight each other over who gets possession of the prize. With our great combined numbers, a common enemy can be eliminated and the prize we both seek will be fought in mortal combat." Goldar extended the free hand to Ecliptor. "Does this sound like an agreeable proposal?"

Ecliptor looked down at the Titan's hand. He knew that despite their alliance, Zedd would do anything to get the coin for himself. He knew this because that's what Astronema would do in a situation like this. Nonetheless, their combined forces would be a formidable and unbeatable group that the Rangers would have problems.

After some hesitation and with great reluctance, Ecliptor grabbed Goldar's hand and shook it. "I accept your terms. For now."

---

"They shouldn't be able to follow us," the hunter told the White Ranger, "I think we've covered enough distance."

White Ranger took a quick glance back at the mountains they had just traveled from. They had traveled a good ten miles of mountains in less than half an hour. He wasn't necessarily surprised that they wouldn't be followed, but he had expected Zedd to send in more troops on their way. His mind reflected back to the hunter, who bore the mythical eighth power coin that he assumed was the reason behind these recent strikes.

"I'm sorry about before," Gillian said suddenly, "I should have a little more open when I saw you guys."

White Ranger shook his head in denial. "Actually, it was my fault. I shouldn't have been so demanding as I have been, but we wasn't too sure about you."

The hunter smiled. "The coin does that. It's such a powerful tool that merely feeling its presence is enough for you to lay claim to it. You're not the first one."

Tommy merely shrugged in response. "So what are you going to do with the coin?"

Gillian shrugged back. "I dunno. Keep it, I suppose. The coin isn't going to work with anyone else unless I choose to give it to someone. Frankly, that isn't an option."

"You're going to be a walking target carrying it," the White Ranger pointed out.

"So what else is new?" she replied in a soft tone. "That's my life, Tom."

Tommy grinned. "Some life. So where are we headed now?"

"Back to my ship," Gillian replied, "It has some weapons we can use to take out the ground troops. I doubt Zedd has any major aerial forces, so we'd have an advantage on that factor."

Tommy nodded, then asked, "Why don't we just use the coin to do tornadoes and stuff like that?"

The hunter shook her head in disbelief. "It's not that easy. And I have no clue how to pull it off anyway."

That simple reasoning was all it took for Tommy to stop with the questions and the two continued on their way. For the most part, the trip was relatively peaceful and no monsters had attacked them yet. This struck White Ranger as odd, since the coin's readings should have been powerful enough to be tracked easily, regardless of detection. It was just another mystery surrounding this girl who held the coin and controlled its power. Placing these thoughts in the back of his mind, Tommy followed Gillian in complete silence.

---

Zedd and Finster proceeded the Alchemy lab that was situated deep within the catacombs of the moon. The lab was so well secluded that it wasn't even built under the palace, but rather several miles away from the palace. Zedd didn't appreciate having to walk there, but teleportation to and from the lab was close to impossible due to the sensitivity of the equipment there.

When they got there, Finster inputted commands into a nearby console that opened the large doors. The doors slowly squeaked open and then with tremendous speed opened widely, revealing a chamber that was pitch black. The only sources of illumination were five rainbow-colored glows and one glowing eye above them all, which belonged to Zedd's 'Reaper' monster.

The 'Reaper' monster, for lack of a better term, was actually a multi-tentacle creature that was practically hidden in the darkness of the lab. The various black-scaled tentacles, the only visible part of the creature aside from the glowing eye, were each connected to five dim-glowing glass tubes of varying colors. After several seconds, the glowing stopped, the glass faded away, and the mists contained within the tube were released, quickly filling the room and revealing the bodies that they hid. Finster quickly checked on the life-support console connected to the main apparatus and nodded in approval of his findings.

"Well, Finster?" the fleshman asked, "Are the specimens ready for action?"

"Yes, my lordship," the elder monstermaker said, "As per your specifications, the Reaper have completed the total energizing of the five specimens. They may not look like much, but they are formidable fighting machines armed with more powers than can every be imposed on a human being."

Zedd smiled beneath his cold iron mask as he looked on at the five lifeless masses wearing similar jumpsuits with diamond designs and a stylized "Z" logo on their chest. The face masks were crudely made, as if someone simply cut the eye and mouth holes out with a pair of scissors. The costumes were cheesy looking and they suited to the fleshman lord's needs perfectly.

"These Dark Rangers shall be the last line in the war against the Rangers," he muttered, "I want them ready in the event Goldar and Astronema's toy fail to acquire the coin."

---

"Guys, we have a problem." Aisha's comment had caused the remaining three Rangers to observe the viewing globe, which was showing images of Goldar and company starting their advances towards the Command Center. Adam gave a nervous glance to Billy, who was somehow able to maintain his composure. Rocky clenched his fists together and turned to Zordon.

"We have to slow them down, Zordon," Rocky said, "Even though we don't have the coin, they'll come here thinking we do and won't stop until they have it in their possession."

Zordon shook his head. "What you are proposing is risky and there is a good chance that you will not win this battle, Rangers."

That's when Billy stepped in. "Rocky might be suggesting something risky, but we're all out of options."

"Your powers are significantly strained over the last few battles," the sage cautioned, "I cannot assure that they will hold out under the pressure."

"That's a risk we'll have to take, Zordon," Adam added, "It's the only to go."

Zordon thought about it for a moment, but only came with one conclusion. "As I much as I am against this rash move, I agree that there is no other option. All I can tell you is to do what you can and may the power protect you."

The Rangers nodded. With that done, they each grabbed their own helmets, slipped them on, proceeded out to the main gate and the army of monsters that awaited them outside. Alpha said one last comment before they were out of the main chamber.

"Good luck, Rangers."

To be continued...


	8. Part 8

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 8  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

So here's the Eighth Chapter of the Eighth Coin, but it's not the final chapter... Um, sorry. That intro was lame. Just read and review. Enjoy.

---

From the front gates of the Command Center, the four Power Rangers emerged and ran head into the combined forces of Goldar and Ecliptor, the two warriors under truce for the moment. No time for the usual pre-battle posing that had been a custom of previous engagements, the Rangers divided and went for the closest non-human target that moved.

Red Ranger immediately brandished his Power Sword and used it skillfully to fight off the various Putties and Quantrons that surrounded him. A few sword swipes and roundhouses were helpful tools in defeating the foot soldiers of the two generals, but as soon as the initial wave of soldiers were defeated, they were replaced with more powerful monsters. Knasty Knight was the first to attack Red Ranger and the two managed various move after move with their swordsplay. A missed sword swipe left Knasty Knight opened and Rocky delivered several swipes that killed the monster instantly.

With her swift speed and high jumps, the Yellow Ranger was easily able to keep away from the hordes of monsters, picking away at them with shots from her Blade Blaster. She managed to eliminate several Quantrons before being shot down by a lightning bolt fired from RhinoBlaster's horn. As soon as the Ranger's body crashed on the ground, several of the monsters immediately piled up on her, hoping to keep her pinned to the ground. Luckily, Aisha was able to slip out from the pile and summoned the rarely-used Pulse Blasters. Before the monsters could react, she fired a fully-charged shot that wiped the whole batch of monsters and turned her attention to the other band of monsters slowly rushing at her.

Black Ranger held his own against the Bug Monsters and evened the score when he summoned his Power Axe and using its built-in cannon to keep the monsters at bay. One of the monsters, Stag Beetle, fired energy bolts from his antennae, but Adam managed to leap over the beams and deliver a killing blow to the monster with his axe. Adam further intensified his axe swipes that defeated and vaporized several other monsters, but the barrage would end when King Sphinx struck Black Ranger with his staff, knocking the Ranger down.

With a Blade Blaster in one hand and a Pulse Blaster in the other, the Blue Ranger fired many shots to keep the various monsters at bay. Some monsters had even fallen under these weapons, but soon they continued to advance towards Billy. He tossed the two blasters aside and summoned his Power Lance to engage the monsters head on. For the most part, he held his own against the onslaught of monsters that attacked, but knew he couldn't hold up much longer.

Rocky managed to break clear of the monster army and soon found himself facing the two warriors who were in charge of the massive monster army. Rocky gripped on his Power Sword firmly with both hands as he felt the gazes of Goldar and Ecliptor piercing through his visor. A full minute passed before Rocky leapt at the two warriors with the sword held overhead. The two warriors crossed their swords and from the blades shot orange and green bolts that struck Red Ranger in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Rocky was quick to recover and rolled out of the way as Ecliptor's blade dove and stabbed into the stone surface.

---

The battle seemed to be in his favor, but Lord Zedd wasn't too impressed with the results. All of them seemed to be faring well against the Power Rangers, but none of them were making a move towards the Command Center. They seemed more interested in defeating the humans that had been responsible for their defeats time and time again. With great apprehension, Zedd walked towards Finster, who was standing in the middle of the chamber of command.

"Let them loose, Finster," the fleshman whispered to the monster's ear. "Let them loose."

Finster nodded in approval of Zedd's decision. "Yes, your lordship. It shall be done."

---

Tommy looked around the ship that belonged to the hunter, who was prepping the ship for lift. While he was in awe of the ship's outer appearance, the interior seemed much more dirtier and aged. He didn't expect a lush, clean environment here either, but at least he could approve of the scent of pine in the air. He turned to Gillian, who was already at the cockpit operating the controls to the ship.

"It's going to take a while to start the engines up," she said without facing Tommy. "If you want, I have a spare bunker in the back with a couple of water bottles." She pointed the rusted gray door in the back. "Help yourself."

Tommy nodded back and headed for the door she had pointed to. Turning on the knob lightly, he opened it to find a relatively clean room, with a bunk bed and a freezer box. Tommy closed the door behind him and reached for the freezer box, opening it up to find a couple bottles of clear water. He reached for one of the bottles and pour some of the water into a glass. He took a sip of the water and then consumed the entire glass full. Feeling reinvigorated by the cool liquid, he reached for his communicator and dialed for the Command Center.

"Zordon, can you read me?" There wasn't an immediate response. _Probably because of interference_, he thought. He did feel a slight rumbling as the ship took off but didn't worry much about it.

After some time, he heard the Eltarian's voice through the communicator. "_Yes, Tommy. Are you alright?_"

"Yeah," Tommy said. He paused for a moment before adding, "I'm with her."

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause on Zordon's end. "_Did she cause you any harm?_"

"No, but she does scare me a bit. On the other hand, I don't think we have to worry about her."

"_Yes, we do,_" Zordon interjected, "_A massive contingency of monsters is within proximity range of the Command Center in search of the Eighth Coin. The Rangers have gone to confront them, but I fear they will be defeated swiftly._"

"We'll be there as soon as we can."

Tommy turned off his communicator and hung his head. Part of him felt guilty for not being with the Rangers in the first place, but on the other hand, common sense dictated that things wouldn't have been much difference if he was there. Even with a full team up and running, they had never faced this many monsters striking at the same time and the previous encounters. Without much thought, he stepped out of the bunker room and headed for the cockpit where Gillian was handling the piloting of the ship. Tommy's view shifted to the mountain desert landscape, where the ground was a sea of monsters with several explosions visible here and there.

"We're headed there now," Gillian said, "It's starting to look a little crowded down there. Do you think you can handle weapon control?"

Tommy nodded. "No problem. Tell me what I need to do."

---

After a shaky start, Rocky valiantly fought off against Goldar and Ecliptor in armed combat. While he was familiar with Goldar's fighting style, Ecliptor's various attacks baffled the Red Ranger and wasn't able to handle him as easily as he could the Titan. For every time Rocky downed Goldar to the ground, Ecliptor would skillfully block all of the Red Ranger's sword swipes and counter with a stiff kick to the abdomen. Before Rocky could make another move, he heard a loud exploding sound from behind him and turned around. He later saw instant eruptions of flames emerge, incinerating certain monsters and knocking away others into the air. Ecliptor and Goldar paused their advances against the Red Ranger, wondering where these blasts came from.

From the corner of his visor, Billy noticed the sudden bursts of explosions that were sending monsters flying. He briefly glanced upward and saw a speeding ship fly by and firing powerful beams from its twin cannons. The beams that dropped into the endless of monsters erupted in giant fireballs that vaporized some monsters and knocked away several others around the blast. Billy noticed the monsters turning their attention to the small spacecraft as it sped towards the Command Center.

Using the brief moment of distraction, Blue Ranger extended his Power Lance in front of him and began spinning his body in a three-sixty motion. He continued to spin his body around, striking and knocking down several monsters that were stupid enough to get close. After several spins, his body continually spun faster and fiercer until it became nothing more than a blazing blue blur that slowly moved around. Any monster caught within this blur was defeated and Blue Ranger's spinning body managed to cut through several monsters. The remaining monsters fled away from the blur, by which point the spinning slowed down and completely stopped. Blue Ranger adopted a fighting stance, completely unphased by spinning around at speeds that would make the normal human spew vomit seconds.

Adam clutched the cannon of his Power Axe firmly and fired several concussion shots at the monsters. Suddenly, the shots released were much more powerful than before and resulted in massive explosions when it struck a monster. Adam could almost feel the power boost slowly seeping into him. He wasn't too sure what to make up of it, but it didn't matter. He kept firing powered bursts from the axe's cannon and made short work of the advancing horde of monsters.

Slowly, the army of monsters was getting smaller as they succumbed to the sudden increase of the Rangers' powers. Goldar, realizing the severity of such a failure, launched himself into the air and used his wings to begin a flight towards the Command Center and his prize. Ecliptor noticed the Titan in flight and fired a green beam, which struck Goldar in the back and caused him to crash to the ground.

"You lying scum!" the green-black warrior accused, "Trying to get away with claiming my prize?"

Goldar tried to explain himself, but Ecliptor was too busy firing many bolts that struck the Titan and kept him under fire. Several shots had managed to disarm Goldar of his sword and several shots more knocked the Titan down. Ecliptor continued his slow walk towards Zedd's general, but was caught off-guard by several bolts shot from a monster. Ecliptor turned his attention to the monster, who was suddenly backed by several more monsters. Ecliptor concentrated his efforts on the band of monsters and shot several beams at them, but the monsters kept their advances until they completely overwhelmed the bodyguard to Astronema.

After recovering from the onslaught, Goldar once again attempted a flight towards the Command Center, which was nearby. After some time, the Titan felt as though he was about to succeed where others had failed. With the other Power Rangers distracted and his 'partner' being beaten down by his army of monsters, Goldar felt a sense of pride and excitement as he landed on the finely-crafted ground and stood before the majestic wall of the Command Center. There was a glint in his eyes that appreciated the structure. He took the grandeur and scope of this relatively small complex, almost saddened that such a work of art would soon be destroyed by his very hand.

Feeling the fruits of victory close at hand, Goldar made his way towards the main door of the Command Center. As expected, the doors were firmly shut and a binding barrier surrounded it. The Titan extended his sword forward and from the tip of the blade launched several fireballs and bolts, which struck the barrier with enough force to take down a building. The barrier held firmly (though Goldar wasn't too surprised) and the Titan continued to launch projectiles at the barrier. After a full minute, the barrier faded and the heavy doors emitted several sparks before opening inward. The Titan's eyes lit up and a wicked smirk formed on his primal face. This was the moment he had been dreaming of ever since he was released from his ten thousand year prison and after years of taking abuse from Rita and Zedd, he would accomplish what none thought was possible. And in his mind, there was nothing anyone can do about it.

To be continued...


	9. Part 9

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 9  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

Sorry for the late posting. I'm hoping to finish this story before the end of the year. Enjoy.

---

Feeling the fruits of victory close at hand, the Titan warrior Goldar stood before the opened doors of the Command Center, his eyes lighting up and a wicked smirk forming on his primal face in anticipation of what he was about to accomplish. This was the moment he had been dreaming of ever since he was released from his ten thousand year prison and after years of taking abuse from Rita and Zedd, he would accomplish what none thought was possible. And in his mind, there was nothing anyone can do about it. The Rangers were busy with the monsters and his partner was being mobbed by the army after attempting to kill the Titan. Nobody else stood in the way...

"At last, the end of Zordon and his pathetic Power Rangers is at hand," he announced triumphantly, "The ultimate prize will be mine!"

He took the first step inside the compound and took a long whiff of the air that came from it. Before he could make a further step, he saw a familiar figure in white flying straight at him with both feet fully extended. Unable to react in time, Goldar felt the full brunt of a White Ranger dropkick that hurled the dazed Titan out of the Command Center's entryway and down the steep slope of the base. Goldar rolled down the slope until he reached a gradual surface and slowly got back to his feet. He looked upwards to find the White Ranger standing tall on the base of the moutain.

"Hey, Donkey Kong! Didn't you read the club rules?" Tommy taunted, "Only those with a power coin can enter the clubhouse!"

The titan growled in response and leapt at the White Ranger, who leapt in response. When the two met in midair, Tommy pulled out Saba and dug the saber deep into Goldar's back. The Titan screamed in pain as he felt the blade punch through his armor and puncture his outer skin, though he didn't believe it to be a fatal blow. Tommy pulled the bloodied saber from the Titan's back and rolled to the ground while Goldar crashed. He saw the open wound that Saba caused and saw the blood gushing from it. Before he could do anything else, Goldar immediately teleported back to the moon, vanishing in mystic flames. The situation here done, Tommy broke into a run towards the army of monsters, where the other Rangers were.

---

There was a blanket of silence that covered the command center as Zordon and Alpha gazed towards the hunter who was the bearer of the Eighth Power Coin. Gillian's stare to Zordon was strong enough that the sage almost felt fearful of what this person might do. After all, the last time a coin bearer penetrated the Command Center unannounced, he was almost lost for good and the Command Center was in shambles. It wasn't difficult for assume that it would happen again.

Gillian turned towards Alpha, who was tending to the unconscious Kimberly. She soon took a couple steps closer to check on Kim for a moment. After staring a hole at Kim's forehead, Gillian turned to Alpha and placed a hand on the robot's shoulder.

"Step back," she told Alpha, "I'll get her out of this."

Alpha hesitated for a moment and looked up to Zordon. When he saw the sage bob his head, Alpha obliged and soon Gillian stood over Kimberly's prone body. She immediately removed the wrappings from her left hand to unveil the Eighth power coin, which was pulsating various colors strongly. She plucked the coin with the right hand and motioned over Kimberly's head, with Alpha and Zordon staring in awe as they saw the coin at work. Gillian continued to motion the coin until Kim's body briefly flashed pink and retracted her hand. In a couple seconds, Kim's eyes slowly opened up. She glanced around the room and noticed the hunter looking down at her.

"What are you doing here?" she said.

Gillian shook her head in disbelief. "You're welcome."

Kim slowly sat up and stretched out her arms while yawning. With a scanner in hand, Alpha approached Kim and checked her for a bit with the small device. After a moment, Alpha went back to work and Kim jumped to her feet before turning to Zordon.

"So what did I miss?"

---

From the relative safety of his Lunar Palace, Lord Zedd observed the brutal fighting on Earth, which had grown more furious since the White Ranger's arrival and Goldar's sudden departure. Zedd looked around and wondered where those Dark Rangers were; they should have been there by now. Then it made sense to Zedd that they would wait for their moment to strike; a fitting strategy to finish off the rest of the table scrap that remained.

_It would be these stealth tactics that wins him the coin_, he thought, _but once again that stupid buffoon messed it up!_

Almost on cue, the battered Titan emerged in the chamber of command. Zedd didn't face Goldar, but was aware of his arrival. Knowing this, Goldar took slow steps towards the balcony, dropped to a knee, and groveled to the fleshman lord.

"My lord, I regret to inform you that-"

Zedd raised his hand, which silenced the Titan. "I do not want to hear your sniveling excuses, Goldar. I want you to watch as my Dark Rangers plunder through these insignificant insects like fruit loops."

---

When Tommy got to the battlefield, he broke into a quick dash and knocked down several monsters with running forearms and sword swipes that seemed to kill anything it cut through. He couldn't see any of the other Rangers, as the monsters were occupying most of the space anyway. Tommy eventually reached Ecliptor, who noticed the White Ranger coming at him and the two engaged in a sword fight. Ecliptor managed to counter most of Tommy's attacks, who promptly blocked the counters. Even after two straight minutes of fighting, neither one was gaining an advantage over the other.

Meanwhile, Rocky had finished off several more Z-Putties and Quantrons, Adam cleared the way of Knasty Knights and Stag Beetles, and both Aisha and Billy successfully fended off the Twin Men. Slowly, the large number of monsters was shrinking bit by bit, but the Rangers were starting to feel tired after what seemed like an hour of constant fighting. Just when things seemed to be looking up, Rocky noticed several explosions in the background and the flaming bodies of monsters that were flung from the spot. He tilted his head another way to find another explosion and more monsters sent flying, but he could visibly see a quick-moving blur of light that split into five of varying colors. Rocky noticed a speeding red blur dashing right at him. He tried to steer clear, but the blur was too fast and Rocky soon felt the brunt of a fist smashing to his protected face with enough force to knock the Red Ranger down, but not enough force to crack the helmet.

"What's going on?" he blurted out as he struggled back to his feet.

The five blurs continued through, destroying everything it touched. What had once been a massive army of several hundred monsters and putties have been reduced to no more than fifty monsters, most of whom were teleporting away from here to escape the wrath of these colored blurs. The clearing of monsters had given the five Rangers an opportunity to regroup. Before long, the five blurs stopped before the now unified Rangers and solidified into five figures, with cheaply-done replica of their own Ranger suits. Colored red, yellow, blue, pink, and grey, they did fighting poses similar to the Rangers, but they did not make any sound.

"Dark Rangers?" Billy spat in realization. "They look worse than the first time around."

"Yeah, they hit hard too," Rocky rebutted, "That stung me good."

"Gotta be careful," Tommy said, "There could be people in those suits."

Adam didn't respond, as he was too busy dodging a flying kick from the Grey Dark Ranger. Another missed blow gave the Black Ranger an opening and he managed to land a well-placed punch to the Dark Ranger's face. Much to Adam's surprise, the head of the Dark Ranger flew off the body and splattered on a nearby rockface. The rest of the Dark Ranger's body starting cracking and just as quickly crumbled into a pile of rotting clay pieces.

"So much for that theory, Tommy," Adam replied, "These are claybrains all the way."

Even with reduced numbers and the knowledge that their new enemies weren't human, the Dark Rangers were still proving to be difficult adversaries and other than Tommy, the other four Rangers were having a hard enough time fighting these doppelgangers as well as their own fatigue. From afar, Ecliptor saw all the Rangers fight with these awful monstrosities. Then his eyes glanced towards the straight, gradual slope that led to the Command Center. With the Rangers distracted and Goldar having tucked his tail between his legs to flee back to the moon, Ecliptor climbed up the slope without fear of repercussion. Before long, he approached the front gate of the Command Center, which was still wide open. Ecliptor nodded in approval of the circumstances and took a few steps within the dark hall. Before he could advance any further, Ecliptor was struck in the chest by various arrows that shot at him. The barrage of steel arrows had caused the warrior to stag back and before long, he found himself outside. Another energy blast followed and struck Ecliptor in the chest again, the blow enough to knock the warrior down.

"What is with you losers anyway?" a female voice blurted out, "You can't just barge in here without a power coin! It goes against the union rules!"

Ecliptor slowly got to his feet and looked ahead as a Pink Ranger emerged from the darkness that hid her. She held the Power Bow and held the arrow firmly, ready to launch the projectile at a moment's notice. Ecliptor thought of attacking and running past the Pink Ranger; after all, he was stronger than she was. Then he took note of the second emerging figure from the entryway of the Command Center. Ecliptor instantly recognized her.

"You double-crossing wench!" he growled, "You were supposed to bring the coin to ME!"

Gillian shook her head. "And you were supposed to pay me. But I never received the advance."

Ecliptor charged at the hunter, but Kimberly stepped in the way and released the arrow. The arrow managed to pierce through Ecliptor's left arm and continued on its way. Ecliptor looked at his arm as the black skin turned transparent and the green grids of his arm slowly dissolved. Outnumbered and disarmed, Ecliptor took a step back and teleported away back to his home base, leaving the two women alone.

"Okay," Gillian told Kim, "this is the part where you help the other Rangers fight... those clay things or... whatever."

Kim shrugged and ran off towards the fighting. Even from a distance, she could see the other five Rangers fighting off against the four remaining Dark Rangers and their ridiculous costumes. She instinctively leapt to the sky, summoned her Power Bow and launched several arrows to the ground. Some of the arrows managed to s, while a single arrow dug itself into the Pink Dark Ranger's cranium. Seeing the Dark Ranger struggling to remove the arrow, Tommy ran towards the grotesque creature, sheathed Saba, and delivered a quick swipe across the Dark Ranger's neck. The Dark Ranger just as quickly dropped to the ground, its sliced head bouncing along the uneven surface. Seconds after the prone body dissolved into mist, Tommy let out a relieved sigh and turned to Kim, who just landed while he was dealing with the Dark Ranger.

"You okay?" Kim asked.

Tommy nodded. "Funny, I was going to ask you the same question."

Kim didn't give an answer; she sidestepped the flying Yellow Dark Ranger, who crashed onto the wall and quickly recovered. Kim pulled out her blaster and fired a continuous laser beam that seemed to dig itself into the Dark Ranger's chest and shoot out of its back. Kim kept the beam active and the Dark Ranger slowly began to lose its form. From another angle, Tommy pulled out Saba, aimed the saber at the paralyzed monster, and tossed it so that it would impale into the Dark Ranger's chest. A flash of yellow light formed around the creature and just as quickly faded away. Another Dark Ranger has been taken out, leaving two more remaining.

The Blue Dark Ranger's various punches were pitifully executed and his kicks were telegraphed easily that Billy was able to avoid the attacks entirely. The attacks were slowly atrociously launched that it would take a lot of effort for Billy to get hit on purpose if he wanted to. Despite this, Billy decided to let the Ranger wear himself out as oppose to launching a quick and easy kill, but then changed his mind and delivered a fierce headbutt that practically decapitated the clay creature's head. Seconds later, the blue remains dissolved into mist, prompting Billy to join with the others.

All that remained now was the Red Dark Ranger, who was fighting with Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. Unlike the other Dark Rangers, whom were taken out rather quickly, the Red Dark Ranger was a formidable fighter, able to quickly block, dodge, and counter attacks from all three Rangers at once. At one point, he managed to swing his right arm at all three Rangers, knocking them back on the ground. Soon, the other three Power Rangers joined up and the Dark Ranger was clearly outnumbered. One by one, the Rangers launched their attacks, but the Dark Ranger shot out various lightning bolts that struck the Rangers. Only the White Ranger stood and he broke into a dash at the Dark Ranger. The Dark Ranger dashed at the White Ranger with blazing speed and before long, he struck Tommy with the tip of the elbow, knocking the leader of the Rangers down on his back.

"Man, this guy is starting to get on my nerves!" Tommy muttered as he and the other Rangers regrouped, "Let's finish this!"

All six Rangers went into position and summoned the Power Cannon. Before the Dark Ranger could react, the cannon fired a continuous stream of energy that enveloped the creature in golden light. When the beam faded, the Dark Ranger's form was still and lifeless. A second passed before the clay form of the last Dark Ranger slowly crumbled into a pile of gray dust.

It seemed like the Dark Rangers were defeated and victory had been assured, but then the sky slowly darkened until it was a cold, harsh layer of black. Loud thunder could be heard and crimson bolts of lightning formed, striking the very spot where the Red Dark Ranger was slain. Another set of yellow lightning bolts struck the spot where the Yellow Dark Ranger's corpse had faded and three more sets of colored bolts did the same for the remaining three. From these spots formed a orb and these five orbs of light flew from their spot, merging together to form a gigantic creature whose physical form was shrouded in shadow.

"I did not just see that!" Kim shrieked.

"Come on, guys," Tommy told them, "We've dealt with worse than this!"

---

Within the Command Center walls, Zordon, Alpha 5, and the coin bearer Gillian silently watched the battle in progress. Both the Eltarean sage and the Eighth Coin bearer seemed tense as the five essences of the Dark Rangers combined into one single entity, but neither said a word. As they watched, the viewing globe showed the summoning of the Thunderzords and their subsequent transformation into the Thunder Megazord. It later showed the White Tigerzord emerging from its hiding place and converting to Warrior Mode, the Zord's more effective mode. As soon as it showed the two transformed Zords facing this shadow figure, Gillian broke the uneasy silence.

"They are in way over their heads," she blurted out, "They're not going to beat it."

"_You must have faith in the Rangers,_" Zordon advised, "_I believe they will defeat this latest adversary._"

Gillian turned to the sage, her face burdened with worry. "This 'latest adversary' is a Reaper. I've seen that kind of power put to use. That thing'll tear them apart."

Upon hearing this, Alpha shrieked, followed by a seemingly unending string of "Ayaiyaiyai". Zordon knew about Reaper monsters and their power. Like the hunter, he had seen what one such monster could do to a thousand well-trained soldiers. He knew well that this would be a futile battle.

To be continued...

P.S. - Donkey Kong is owned by Nintendo.


	10. Part 10

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS in THE EIGHTH COIN - Part 10 (Finale)  
Written by DTM666

Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.

The final chap. R&R. Enjoy.

---

The Rangers summoned their Thunderzords and combined them to form the Thunder Megazord while the White Tigerzord was also summoned from its hiding place by White Ranger and soon converted to the more efficient Warrior Mode. Both soon stood before the powerful Reaper monster, but kept their distance. The creature's black rubbery skin, multiple tentacles, and its single, glowing eye made it seem utterly revolting, but then the looks would only complement its fearsome power that had ravaged worlds before.

The Reaper saw the two Zords firing their traditional energy bolts, none of which has done enough significant damage to harm the creature. The White Tigerzord slowly made its advance towards the Reaper, but was hit by a whipping tentacle. The Megazord was next to make its approach, but the Reaper shot a energy burst to keep the zord at bay. Both zords once again attempted to fire projectiles at the Reaper, but then they eyed glowed and between the incoming stream of energy beams and the creature appeared an energy barrier. The barrier destroyed most of the projectiles it blocked, causing the Megazord and Tigerzord to take a couple steps back in response. Soon, the barrier faded and the Reaper monster decided to launch the next phase of its attack.

The Reaper lashed out two of its tentacles, each one wrapping around the respective zords like a vine until they were firmly immobilized. With little effort, the Reaper raised its tentacles up with the captured Zords in tow and soon the tentacles were supercharged with electrical bolts that caused small sparks and explosions to erupt from the Zords. Finally, the Reaper raised the entangled Zords a little higher up before slamming them to the ground with such tremendous force that more mini-explosions erupted from the zords.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Thunder Megazord was the first to get up, the damage evident by the scorched burnmarks all over the metal skin of the Zord and the once-clean colors faded to a dull-gray. The White Tigerzord struggled to get back on its feet, but collapsed to the ground. This left the Megazord on its own to face the Reaper, so it pulled out the Thunder Saber and attempted to deliver the finishing blow to the Reaper, but the Reaper blocked the sword and shot a blinding energy burst that knocked down the Megazord.

---

The Command Center was dead silent as the events of the battle unfolded. No one could quite get themselves to say something, breath heavily, or even make an audible gasp. For the past minute, they had seen the Reaper manhandle two zords as if they were little plastic army men figurines. After the last fierce hit from the Reaper that seemed to shatter the protective glass of the Megazord's cockpit, Alpha broke into a wail as Gillian uttered profanity. Zordon didn't say anything; the hunter pretty much spoke for him.

It was then that the holder of the coin turned to Zordon and for a brief moment, both shared a staredown. When Zordon slowly nodded, Gillian nodded back and approached one of the computer console, which controlled power accolation between the Zords and the grid. She worked the controls of the computer with utmost efficiency despite never having touched the console before.

"What are you doing?" Alpha asked.

"Calm down, Alpha," Zordon said, "I believe we can trust her."

If Gillian heard the last bit, she certainly didn't show as she continued to operate the computer. Upon entering the last command, she glanced to her side to see the materialization of a small circular disc, measuring about three inches in diameter and was almost as thin as a compact disc box. The disc was featureless and transparent, but a hint of color could barely be seen within the disc. Gillian placed the coin on the disc and entered more commands into the keyboard. Both the coin and disc soon began to glow faintly, almost to the point where the two would be completely hidden in golden light.

"What are you doing?" Alpha cried, "What's going on?"

Gillian didn't reply. The next command inputted into the computer caused the Command Center lights to completely darken and some equipment to deactivate. Alpha was about to cry foul, but looked up at Zordon, who shook his head. Not noticing the background disturbance, Gillian continued working the console until light was partially restore to the Command Center. She then input one final command into the computer before stepping back. Alpha nervously approached the console she had worked on and checked the readings.

"I don't get it," Alpha replied, "You've just shunted power into the accelerators."

Gillian nodded. "It'll give them a chance to fight this thing."

Alpha took a glance at the Megazord and Tigerzord via Viewing Globe and saw that they glowed faintly before jumping up, seemingly rejuvenated by the power boost. Alpha took a closer look and noticed that all the damage both zords suffered in the fight had disappeared and the robot couldn't be more happier... until he noticed Gillian calmly walk out of the Command Center.

"Where are you going?" the little robot squealed.

"I'm going for coffee," she replied before teleporting away.

Alpha looked over to Zordon. "She's going for coffee at a time like this? Ayaiyaiyaiyaiyaiyai!"

---

The Reaper monster took several steps back as the Thunderzords were slowly being restored; their battle scars repaired. The Reaper shot another energy burst, but the burst dissipated before it could make contact with either Zord. As they were being restored, the Zords slowly got back to their feet; by which the miraculous repair was completed and the two Zords were whole once again.

"What happened?" Rocky asked, perplexed.

"All systems are repaired," Billy reported, "Although I am at a loss to explain it."

"I have a good idea how this happened," Tommy said over the comlink from the White Tigerzord, "but let's forget about it. We have a job to finish!"

No longer hampered by non-existing damage, the Thunder Megazord was the first to advanced towards the shadowy Reaper monster, who fired several more energy bursts. The energy bursts, however, had no effect on the Megazord, whose restored skin had effectively deflected the bursts. Once within melee range, the Megazord threw a fit directly into the Reaper's eye, which was enough for the creature to recoil several steps back in pain. From the distance, the Tigerzord fired several of its firebolts. All the shots impacted the Reaper, with one shot striking the creature's eye, causing it to growl in pain. Another quick jab from the Megazord to the eye was enough to knock the creature down. At the same time, the cold veil of the black sky was starting to crack, as beams of light began to seep through

"Now that's more like it!" White Ranger gloated, "Let's finish this guy!"

The smoking and weakening Reaper monster slowly struggled to get back to its feet, but its efforts would be for naught as the illuminated blade of the Thundersaber swiftly cut through its graying skin and the creature soon crashed onto the ground, its tentacles twitching until the life force of the creature was gone, its body still. The two Zords kept their distance, readying themselves for anything that could happened. As it were, the dead Reaper's corpse dissolved into specks of black dust before having completely vanished.

---

"My lord?"

Lord Zedd was silent. Hard to believe that the Rangers were able to hold off and defeat a large number of his monsters as well as his own Reaper monster, which had done its damage before the Eighth Coin re-energized them. Granted, such use of power is probably going to put a strain on the Command Center's power, but the fact is that the Rangers were still triumphant.

"I'm sorry, my lord."

Silence. Zedd took a quick look over the Putty chamber, where a few would usually stand guard in preparation for the next battle against the Rangers. But this time there were no remaining. Not even in the chamber itself, because every last one of them was used in the failed attack on the Command Center. All of them were either destroyed in the fighting or have fled to other points of the universe.

Finally, Zedd spoke two simple words in a low, calm tone. "Leave me."

The titan did as ordered and limped his way to the Chamber's main exit, which lead to the main staircase of the Command tower of the Lunar Palace. His own wound had healed, but he would not possess the same fighting capacity as he did before. He had almost been crippled by the White Ranger's fatal attack and he silently vowed vengeance.

"Goldar," he spoke out, stopping the gold titan, "As far as Rita is concerned, this never happened."

Goldar simply nodded in agreement before walking out, without an utterance of a word.

---

Just a short while ago, Tommy was told to meet Gillian in some rock quarry. Naturally, he was going to walk there, but Zordon teleported him there instead, deeming this to be official Power Ranger business. He would meet with Gillian and discuss the fate of the Eighth Coin that she held - a fate which would be decided by the Ranger leader. Gaining Zordon's confidence and assurance that he would approve any decision Tommy would make hadn't made it any easier, either.

He reflected on the past week and the wild ride the Ranger team has gone through; the trip to Edenoi, the constant monster attacks, the revelation of an eighth Power Coin, the hunter that bore said coin, a furious (and failed) assault on the Command Center itself, and the fight with a monster that possessed more power than he saw in a typical monster. And when all was done, it was revealed that the power accelerators of most of the Command systems were heavily strained and another battle of that magnitude were be more than enough to completely wipe out their powers. In spite of that, Tommy wasn't worried. After having been through all that and winning, he knew that the Rangers were capable of taking on anything.

Then his train of thought was broken when he saw Gillian materialize out of nowhere, a sight he had never gotten used to despite various monsters doing it many times and despite he himself having done it. Tommy didn't move to her; instead she walked to him, unwrapping her left hand which held the Eighth coin firmly to her hand. Before he could say a word or do anything, Gillian extended the hand holding the coin to Tommy.

"Here." she said. "Take it. Hide it."

_That was it_, he thought, _No questions asked and no arguments._

Reluctant at first, Tommy reached for the coin and picked it up. He glanced at the coin. He thought about what needed to be done with the coin. Do they try and adapt the coin to be used in conjunction with a morpher? Tommy knew it was impossible considering the coin's unique properties. Do they dispose of the coin with archaic means? Tommy rejected that thought immediately; knowing if it were disposed, someone might find it again and who knows how much havoc would be caused. A full power infusion had a slim chance of success, but failure would result in an complete overload of the Grid, and given their current woes, they can't afford such a mishap to occur. After some thought and deliberation, Tommy realized that there wasn't a decision to be made and only one course of action needed to be taken.

"No," he said as he handed the coin back. "Keep it. It's better off."

"I don't deserve it," she argued, "You've said it yourself."

"I was wrong," admitted Tommy, "You know how to use it, know how to control it. You know its powers better than anybody. There's no reason why you shouldn't keep it."

Gillian thought about it for a moment, then took the coin back, placed it on her hand, and re-applied new wrapping until she felt the coin secure. She looked at this Ranger who had proven to be a formidable fighter and a man of reason.

"I guess this is goodbye," Gillian quipped, "I'd like to say 'until next time', but quite frankly I don't want see any of you ever again until you're all retired."

Tommy laughed. "Yeah, right. This is a lifetime contract. It's either this or digging up dinosaur bones for a living."

The hunter grinned, a sight Tommy couldn't really get use to. But it sure beats having her knock him down on the ground again; he's had enough on that count. Gillian turned and walked away from the White Ranger.

"Take care of yourself," Tommy added.

"You too" was her last reply before teleporting away. Soon Tommy found himself alone in that rock quarry, his eyes affixed on the ascending scout ship that had dropped its stealth shield momentarily. Tommy saw a signal light under the ship blinking and Tommy waved back before the ship continued its ascent and flew out into space. Its destination... unknown.

For the past ten minutes, Tommy stood in that rock quarry staring into the sky. His attention was focused too much on the hunter that he hadn't noticed Kimberly teleporting in from behind him. When she stood next to him, he turned his head to hers, breaking out of his trance.

"And?" she asked.

"She kept the coin," he said with regret, although it was regret that she couldn't stay a little while longer.

"She's seems friendly enough," Kim added, "when she isn't trying to kill us, that is."

"Yeah," he said. He took one last glance at the sky. Kim noticed the frown on her companion's face growing.

"What is it?"

"I just have this funny feeling that we're going to meet again," Tommy said, "And that's before the 'lifetime' contract comes to an end."

"Could you stop with that?" Kim said, punching Tommy's arm lightly. "Let's get out of here."

Tommy nodded in agreement and the couple pressed the teleport button on their communicators, vanishing in respective white and pink columns. But not before Tommy was able to let out one comment.

"Were you listening in?"

THE END

Afterward  
That's it. Thus ends the final chapter of this story. I'm thinking about whether or not I should do a follow-up piece to this story, but who knows? Anyway, thanks to all those who have read the piece and an extra thanks to those who took the time to leave a review and let me know what they think.


End file.
